Having worked as a housekeeper all her life, Justina inherits from her former employer a mansion in the middle of the Argentinian pampas. Under one condition: she must never leave. In this modern fairytale, Justina and her daughter Alexia will face the challenges of keeping that promise alive.
Martín Benchimol (b. 1985) is an Argentine film director, screenwriter and cinematographer.
He has directed two feature documentaries. “El Espanto” (The Dread, 2017), premiered at IDFA where it was awarded the IDFA AWARD for Best Film; and “La gente del río” (The River People, 20212) premiered at DOK Leipzig. In 2022 he premiered the short film “Un corazón más contundente” (A Robust Heart), produced by Sandbox Films (U.S.A.) and PFilm (U.K.), in the IDFA short film competition.
Martín is a graduate from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), where he teaches filmmaking at the Documentary Graduate Program.
EL CASTILLO is Martín’s solo feature film debut.
2012 La gente del río / The River People (63′)
2017 El Espanto / The Dread (67′) – IDFA 2018
2022 Un corazón más contundente / A Robust Heart (12’)
2023 El Castillo / The Castle (78′)
Berlinale – Panorama – 2023
Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival – Official Selection – 2023
FICCI – Ficciones de Allá – 2023
Hong Kong International Film Festival – Young Cinema Competition – Best Director – 2023
Hot Docs – World Showcase – 2023
Jeonju International Film Festival – World Cinema – 2023
Docaviv International Documentary Film Festival – International Competition – 2023
Guadalajara International Film Festival – Iberoamerican Feature Film – 2023
Sheffield DocFest – People & Community – 2023
Brussels International Film Festival – International Competition – 2023
New Horizons International Film Festival – Discoveries – 2023
Lima Film Festival – Competencia Documental – 2023
Ambulante Documentary Film Festival – 2023
Camden International Film Festival – Cinematic Vision Competition – 2023
Helsinki International Film Festival – ¡Revoluciones Latinas! – 2023
San Sebastián International Film Festival – Horizontes Latinos – Horizontes Award – 2023
Biarritz Latin America Festival – Out of Competition – 2023
Zurich Film Festival – Documentary Competition – 2023
Reykjavík International Film Festival – Documentaries – 2023
São Paulo International Film Festival – New Directors Competition – 2023
Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival – World Cinema – 2023
Golden Rooster Awards/Film Festival – International Panorama – 2023
Stockholm International Film Festival – Open Zone – 2023
IDFA – Best of Fests – 2023
Festival International du Film d’Amiens – Feature Film Competition – Feature Film Grand Prize – 2023
Miradas Medellín – Official Selection of Latin American Feature Films – 2023
Black Movie Film Festival – Family Jewel – 2024
Antenna Documentary Film Festival – Feature Competition – 2024
