New York Theatrical Release Of Natalia Almada's EVERYTHING ELSE

Cinema Tropical, the New York-based media arts organization and leading presenter of Latin American cinema in the United States, announces the much-anticipated U.S. theatrical release of Everything Else (Todo lo demás), the debut fiction film by acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Natalia Almada, winner of the 2009 Sundance Documentary Directing Award and recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" grant.

Selected as one of the best films of the year (Amy Taubin, Artforum), winner of the Golden Gate Award for Best Film at the San Francisco Film Festival, and an official selection at the New York, Rome, FIDMarseille, Palm Springs, and Morelia film festivals, Everything Else opens on Friday, May 4, at Cinema Village in New York City, followed by other U.S. cities.

The film stars the Academy Award-nominated actress Adriana Barraza (Amores Perros, Babel) as Doña Flor, a 63-year-old bureaucrat living in Mexico City. Barraza, whose outstanding acting career includes films with renowned international filmmakers such as Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Sally Potter, Robert Duvall, and Sam Raimi, delivers a bravura performance in her first starring role, in a nuanced and non-stereotypical character for a Latina actress.

Doña Flor has worked in the same government office for over 35 years, attending to several dozen people from all the corners of Mexican society- rich, poor, educated and illiterate alike. One day her life becomes unhinged and she goes to the pool seeking solace in the water, but is paralyzed by fear until a gesture of kindness from another woman resuscitates her.

With a keen directorial eye and impeccable framing-by the hand of acclaimed cinematographer Lorenzo Hagerman (Heli)-Everything Else explores the interior life of Doña Flor as she awakens from her bureaucratic slumber and yearns to become visible again. Inspired by Hannah Arendt's idea that bureaucratic dehumanization is a brutal form of violence, the story ultimately becomes a mesmerizing contemplation on solitude.

Boasting a successful career as a documentary filmmaker, having participated at the most prestigious film festivals including Sundance, Directors' Fortnight at Cannes, and New Directors/New Films, Almada broadens her storytelling mastery with Everything Else to encompass the world of fiction filmmaking.