Rita, a 13 year old girl, runs away from her abusive father to the big city. She finds solace until she's placed in a safe house run by the State. Rita and her cellmates plots an escape that ends in a shocking act of violence.
***
Rita is Jayro Bustamante's fourth feature film. This is also the third time that he has represented Guatemala for the Oscars following Ixcanul in 2015, La Llorona in 2020 (which was shortlisted) and now Rita in 2024. The film had its world premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival on July 25th, 2024. It was released in theatres in Guatemala in August 2024. Shudder has picked up distribution across the USA and it'll be released on their platform on November 22nd, 2024.
The Guatemalan Film Commission did not publicly announce that their submission would be Rita until The Academy announced the list of eligible films on October 28th, 2024.
The film is produced by Jayro Bustamante, Jonathan King for Concordia Studio, and Gustavo Matheu.
Rita is a drama.
To check out all previous submissions for Guatemala, click HERE.