Cadejo Blanco (2023)

A working-class girl from Guatemala City travels to a small coastal town to infiltrate a gang in order to find her sister who has gone missing in the intense crime thriller Cadejo Blanco, from Director Justin Lerner (The Automatic Hate).

Sarita lives with her sister Bea in a working-class neighborhood in Guatemala City, and, one night, she goes out dancing at the insistence of her free-spirited sister and she heads home alone when the party drags on too late. The next morning, after calling friends and neighbors, Sarita begins to panic when she realizes that Bea never made it home. The police are indifferent and unhelpful, but Sarita suspects that Bea’s disappearance has something to do with Andrés, her sister’s dangerous ex. Realizing she must take matters into her own hands, Sarita manages to befriend him and infiltrate the crime-laden underbelly of Guatemala.

Narrowly avoiding death at every turn, and with an unwavering determination in the face of the men who underestimate her, Sarita becomes increasingly involved with Andrés and the ruthless, violent world of his gang. As she searches for answers about what happened to her sister, she realizes that the truth is a lot more complicated than she could have imagined. Praised for its “gritty authenticity” (Screen Daily) and cast with almost entirely non-professional actors, Cadejo Blanco is an intense, nail-biting thriller in the vein of Sin Nombre and Maria Full of Grace, digging deep into the underbelly of gang culture and called “never less than compelling” by Jennie Kermode of Eye for Film.

DVD Bonus Content

• Commentary with Director Justin Lerner and Producer Mauricio Escobar
• A Video Chat with director Justin Lerner and Star Karen Martínez
• Screen Tests
• Bonus 6 minute Short Film titled Trópico, Directed by Pedro H. Murcia (Guatemala) Spanish with English subtitles. When 17-year-old Axel finds out his girlfriend is pregnant, he takes a dangerous job to build a better future for them. Shot in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.