On the Empty Balcony (En el balcón vacío)

A woman, once a child refugee who escaped the Spanish Civil War, now living as an adult in Mexico City, ruminates over the traumatic events of her childhood, recounting an autobiographical journey through the war in Spain, exile in France, and her life in Mexico. Gabriela appears first as a child (played by Nuri Pereña) and later as an adult (played by María Luisa Elío). The film tells the story of a lost identity, transnational belonging, and Gabriela’s desperate efforts to process her childhood trauma as an adult. The insurmountable suffering the young girl from Pamplona endures is heartbreaking, transforming the child who was threatened and rejected by her nation into a traumatized Spanish Mexican woman.