Watch Leidi

Leidi is a heart-wrenching Colombian drama from 2014, directed by Simón Mesa Soto. The movie tells the story of a teenage mother named Leidi, played by Alejandra Montoya Villa, who lives in the impoverished outskirts of Medellín. Leidi is an outcast in her neighborhood due to her young age and the fact that she has a child out of wedlock. She struggles to make ends meet and to provide for her infant daughter while also taking care of her drug-addicted boyfriend, who frequently disappears without warning.

The film begins with Leidi searching for her missing boyfriend Armando (Hector Orrego), who has promised to come back and bring her money so that she can pay the rent. As she searches for him, Leidi takes her baby girl with her all over the streets of Medellín. We get to see the city and its inhabitants through her eyes – the noisy streets filled with bicycle taxis, the brick houses with no running water, the vendors selling food on the street. We also see how people treat Leidi, with condescension and mocking gestures.

As the day goes on, Leidi becomes increasingly desperate, both to find Armando and to come up with the rent money. Her journey takes her to a hospital where Armando’s mother works, to a restaurant where he was supposed to be working, and to a brothel where he might have gone to get money to pay off his drug dealers. But Armando remains elusive, and Leidi’s mood darkens with each disappointment.

Throughout the movie, the camera follows Leidi closely, often framing her in close-ups and medium shots. We see the exhaustion and despair in her eyes, and we feel her sense of urgency and frustration. The scenes in which she interacts with her baby are particularly poignant – we see her trying to keep her daughter warm, fed, and entertained while also dealing with the stress of the day.

The movie was shot on location in Medellín, and the director made a deliberate choice to use mostly non-professional actors who inhabit the same world as the characters. This gives the film a raw, documentary-like feel that is both authentic and immersive. The city of Medellín itself is also a character in the film – we get a sense of its chaos, its beauty, and its contradictions. Although the movie is set in a particular time and place, its themes of poverty, displacement, and resilience are universal.

Leidi was Simón Mesa Soto’s debut feature film, and it won the Palme d’Or for best short film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. The movie was also selected as the Colombian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, although it did not receive a nomination. The film’s success can be attributed to its honest and unflinching portrayal of a marginalized community, and to the strength of its lead performance by Alejandra Montoya Villa.

In conclusion, Leidi is a powerful and affecting film that tells a story of survival and love amidst poverty and hardship. The movie’s use of non-professional actors and its gritty realism bring the audience into Leidi’s world, making her struggles all the more urgent and real. The film is a testament to the resilience of its characters and to the power of cinema to reveal hidden realities and amplify marginalized voices.