
Sin Nombre is an epic dramatic thriller
written and directed by Student Academy Award winner Cary
Joji Fukunaga in his feature debut. The filmmaker’s
firsthand experiences with Central American immigrants
seeking the promise of the U.S. form the basis of the
Spanish-language movie.
Sin Nombre tells the story of Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a
teenager living in Honduras , and hungering for a brighter
future. A reunion with her long-estranged father gives Sayra
her only real option – emigrating with her father and her
uncle into Mexico and then the United States , where her
father now has a new family.
Meanwhile, Casper , a.k.a. Willy (Edgar Flores), is a
teenager living in Tapachula , Mexico , and facing an
uncertain future. A member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang
brotherhood, he has just brought to the Mara a new recruit,
12-year-old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer), who undergoes a rough
initiation.
While Smiley quickly takes to gang life, Casper tries to
protect his relationship with girlfriend Martha Marlene
(Diana García), keeping their love a secret from the Mara.
But when Martha encounters Tapachula’s Mara leader Lil’ Mago
(Tenoch Huerta Mejía), she is brutally taken from Casper
forever.
Sayra and her relatives manage to cross over into Mexico .
There, they join other immigrants waiting at the Tapachula
train yards. When a States-bound freight train arrives one
night, they successfully rush to board – riding atop it,
rather than in the cars – as does Lil’ Mago, who has
commandeered Casper and Smiley along to rob immigrants.
When day breaks, Lil’ Mago makes his move and Casper in turn
makes a fateful decision. Casper must now navigate the
psychological gauntlet of his violent existence and the
physical one of the unforgiving Mara, but Sayra bravely
allies herself with him as the train journeys through the
Mexican countryside towards the hope of new lives.
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