At the foot of a sacred mountain that governs the winds and fertility lies a small town. There, 15-year-old Karla is undergoing her transition. This joyful documentary captures the highs and lows of growing up outside a major urban centre.

Creators and cast

• Director: Kani Lapuerta
• Screenplay: Kani Lapuerta
• Cinematography: Quetzalli Malagón Pimentel
• Music: Boris Skalski
• Cast: Karla Bañuelos, Assur Bañuelos, Rocío Aranda, Valentina Salcedo, Óliver Salas

About the film

• Subtitles: Polish (PL)
• Age recommendation: 14+
• Duration: 86 minutes
• Mexico, Germany, 2025
• Polish premiere

A Film Scholar Recommends

Niñxs, dir. Kani Lapuerta (Mexico–Germany, 2025). This feature-length documentary marks the debut of activist and educator Kani Lapuerta, a trans man closely connected to the trans community in Mexico — a country often stereotypically associated with violence and patriarchal culture. Yet the film shows something radically different. Over the course of eight years, the film follows the life of a 15-year-old trans girl — with audiovisual materials and the filmmaking process spanning that lengthy period. Lapuerta crafts an optimistic and intimate portrait of a young person who, after transitioning, is a happy teenager surrounded by supportive family and friends.What strikes in Niñxs is how relatively easily the protagonist manages to find herself despite living in a binary society. This is a story of dignity, the right to happiness, and self-fulfilment, sparkling with humour, acceptance of reality, and especially acceptance of others. An important layer of the film is its metanarrative quality: Niñxs is also about the process of making documentary films and serves partly as a dual portrait — both of its protagonist and its filmmaker.

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Poster