Growing up in a household of seven females and no males seemed the most normal thing in the world to director Mayra Hermosillo. Until it wasn’t.
Her feature directorial debut “Vanilla” (“Vainilla”), which world premieres Sept. 3 in the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days sidebar, is inspired by her own childhood.
Set in late 1980s Mexico, the drama follows eight-year-old Roberta (in essence, Hermosillo’s childhood self) as she observes the women in her all-female, multi-generational family struggle to keep their home amid growing debt—a battle that slowly transforms her understanding of herself and the women who raise her. The meaning of the title becomes clear at the end.
This deeply personal story delves into the complex journey of breaking away from traditional gender roles passed down through generations. It offers an intimate look at how one’s environment and choices shape who we are—and the grit it takes to face the consequences.
“My great-grandmother was a widow, my grandmother was divorced, my mom was divorced, and my aunt was separated so there wasn’t a male father figure in our household. And that seemed very normal to me. I mean, it’s not like something was missing, not like a part of my body was gone,” she muses. “And actually, I grew up with a kind of curiosity about men. They seemed like mysterious beings to me. ‘What do these men do in life?’ I asked myself?”
Making this film has been, without a doubt, a cathartic experience for Hermosillo. “It wasn’t easy being in that family. But at the same time, in retrospect, I look at them now—and of course, after a lot of therapy—I look at them and I think, they all did the best they could,” she adds, recalling how her great grandmother Concha, when already quite old, sat her down and started crying, asking her forgiveness for being so cruel.
“I feel that making this film—beyond just telling my family’s story, which in itself feels beautiful—what has happened because of honoring them in this way… I swear, it has healed so many wounds in me. Wounds tied to family, to being a woman, to being a friend—really, to being a human in this world,” she muses.
“And now, almost 30 of us are going to Venice from Mexico—crew members, friends, people who are genuinely happy about what’s happening with ‘Vanilla.’ So, it’s not just the film—it’s what making the film has meant. The love that’s being expressed through all of this… I swear, it’s overwhelming in the best way. I’m deeply, deeply grateful. It’s truly beautiful,” she exclaims.
“Imagine how deeply ingrained it is in me—this idea that I have to suffer, that I have to struggle endlessly, that for every good thing, three bad things will come. It’s embedded in the system. And I’m actually scared to fully embrace all the good that’s happening to me,” she adds. “I swear, it’s like I tell myself, ‘Mayra, enjoy this—it’s going to be gone in three seconds.’ And I realize just how much the system affects my mind, how hard it is, and how I’m constantly trying to protect myself from happiness. Because the absence of my father, that lack of a male presence, has deeply impacted me psychologically—it’s left me feeling insufficient.”
Hermosillo, who had pivotal roles in Netflix hit series “Narcos: Mexico,” Alejandra Márquez Abella’s “Northern Skies Over Empty Space” and Amat Escalante’s “Lost in the Night,” credits the unwavering support of ‘Vanilla’ producer Stacy Perskie of Redrum.
“Stacy respected my choices as a first-time director. And that’s rare. It’s easy to override someone making their debut, to step in and take control—but he didn’t. He stood by every decision I made, even when he could see it might not be the best one. He let me go through the process fully, and that’s something not everyone would do. If ‘Vanilla’ is what it is, it’s also because he honored my creative journey.”
She also draws on Marquez as a great source of inspiration. “When I saw her working, I thought, ‘What kind of magic does this woman have on set?’ How everything she does commands respect—without raising her voice, without treating people badly. That was something I saw, and I said to myself, I want to follow that path, in my own way but I want to follow it.”
The family drama features a combined cast of professional and non-pros: Aurora Dávila, María Castellá, Natalia Plascencia, Paloma Petra, Rosy Rojas, Fernanda Baca and Lola Ochoa.
Dávila (who plays Roberta) and Baca (who plays Roberta’s young cousin, Manuela), are non-pros as well as Lola Ochoa who plays the housekeeper, Tachita.
Huasteca Casa Cinematografica is a producer aside from Redrum, which has worked on such large-scale projects as “Spectre,” “Elysium” and “Blade Runner 2024.” Redrum is also a producer on another title world premiering at Venice, “It Would Be Night in Caracas,” with Edgar Ramirez (“Borderlands,” “Emilia Pérez”) producing and starring.
“Vanilla” is backed by Mexican incentives FOCINE, FONCA and Guadalajara CTT. Mexico’s National Fund for Culture and the Arts backed the script’s development.
It won various industry awards and work in progress programs along the way, including from the Festival de Morelia, the Guadalajara Film Festival in L.A. (GLAFF), Ventana Sur and Cinelatino Toulouse.
Bendita Film Sales picked up world sales rights in August.
Mayra Hermosillo Credit: Alberto Rebelo
