Lalo, un peón de catorce años, sueña despierto con su compañera Ana. En un esfuerzo por ganarse su afecto, decide comprarle el último teléfono inteligente. Su arduo trabajo se va por el desagüe cuando su madre toma sus ahorros para ayudar a los gastos de hospital de su prima enferma. La urgencia de Lalo por dinero en efectivo lo lleva a los mafiosos locales, que extraen gasolina de las tuberías del gobierno y la venden en el mercado negro. Su plan fracasa cuando se da cuenta de que uno de los ladrones de gasolina también siente algo por Ana.

An innocent crush propels fourteen year old Lalo’s descent into the criminal underworld of illegal gasoline extraction. What begins as a fast track for the latest smartphone quickly veers into a deadly fight for his life.

*DIRECTOR: Edgar Nito
*PRODUCER: Victor Leycequi, Annick Mahnert, Joshua Sobel
*WRITER: Edgar Nito, Alfredo Mendoza

CAST:
- Leonardo Alonso
- Eduardo Banda
- Fernando Becerril
-Pedro Joaquin
- Pascario Lopez
- Regina Reynoso

Propelled by a need for cash to impress a crush, 14-year-old Mexican farmhand Lalo finds himself dangerously in over his head after entering into the country's underworld of illegal gasoline extraction.

*SYNOPSIS: Lalo, a fourteen year old farmhand daydreams about his classmate Ana. In an effort to win her affection, he decides to buy her the latest smartphone. His hard work goes down the drain when his mother takes his savings to help her sick cousin’s hospital expenses. Lalo’s urgency for cash leads him to local gangsters, who siphon gasoline from government pipelines and sell it on the black market. His plan backfires when he realizes that one of the gasoline thieves has feelings for Ana as well.

PRESS QUOTES & REVIEWS:

“Displaying an impressive visual sense despite his small budget, while never calling unnecessary attention to himself, Nito wastes no time in illustrating the incredibly high stakes.” – Variety

“A tense blend of social realism and crime drama.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“[A] snapshot of a crisis that increasingly makes young men victims and martyrs in equal measure.” – Remzcla

“Huachicolero is a beautiful and thoughtful film that portrays, with acumen and sensibility, the culture of violence and misery in Mexico.” - Código espagueti

“Nito has made an auspicious debut about a world that looks as if it's going to hell” – Screen International

“Fluidly blends a coming-of-age drama with a timely and socially conscious topic that has claimed hundreds of lives.” – Film Pulse

FILM FESTIVAL SELECTIONS:
- Tribeca Film Festival, 2019
- BIFAN, 2019
- Sitges, 2019
- Warsaw Film Festival
- Melbourne International Film Festival
- Guanajuato FF
- Mill Valley Film Festival
- Madrid Film Festival
- Oldenberg Film Festival
- Morbido Fest
- Denver Film Festival
- North Bend FF
- !F Instanbul
- Cine Las Americas Festival
- Hola Mexico FF
- Viva Mexico FF

AWARDS:
- Winner, Best New Narrative Director Award, Tribeca Film Festival 2019
- Audience Award Winner, Hola Mexico Film Festival
- Opening Night Film, BIFAN
- Press Award Winner, Guanajuato Film Festival 2019
- Best Film, Orbita Category, Sitges Film Festival 2019
- Nominated for 4 2020 Ariel Awards (Mexican Academy Awards) including Best Directorial Debut for Edgar Nito

About the Huachicoleros / Gasoline Thieves:

In Mexico, a huachicolero or guachicolero is a person dedicated to the theft and illicit sale of motor fuel (primarily petrol and diesel) and adulterated alcoholic beverages. Fuel theft has been on the increase in the country in recent years.

Traditionally, fuel theft in Mexico involves exploiting existing infrastructure by illegally tapping pipelines to siphon fuel. The Gulf Cartel and their rival Los Zetas first began illegally tapping pipelines in the early 2000s taking advantage of PEMEX pipelines located in their operational zones, where a large percentage of Mexico’s oil and natural gas reserves exist. The process of illegally tapping pipelines is highly dangerous and resulting large explosions often fill headlines in Mexican media.

On average, huachicoleros are stealing 5.5 million liters of fuel nationwide.

Financial losses from fuel theft amount to around $1.1 billion annually.