![A child lies horizontally on a bed looking towards the person on their left who has their arm above their head.](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.chapter.org/images/Cinema-Film-2023/October-2023/_2560x1097_crop_center-center_60_line/20.000-species-of-bees-02.jpg)
Film
20,000 Species of Bees (15)
- 2h 8m
Free
Attributes
- Duration 2h 8m
Spain | Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, Sofia Otero, Patricia
López Arnaiz
Estibaliz Urresola’s delicate debut feature 20,000 Species of Bees – for which its young star Sofía Otero won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at 2022’s Berlin Film Festival – is a tender, heartfelt drama about an eight-year-old’s indelible summer holiday of self-discovery.
Otero plays a trans girl, who rejects her given name Aitor, perplexed by the gender binaries that rule her world, where boys and girls are divided at playtime, and relatives chide her long hair. An inquisitive soul with a thirst for knowledge, she loves to learn new words and skills, and questions why she doesn’t feel certain of who she is when it seems so easy for her older siblings. Ane (Patricia López Arnaiz), her mother, takes the children back to her hometown in the Basque Country for the summer, where Cocó spends hours with her great aunt, the village beekeeper, watching her work and asking her to define unfamiliar terms. It’s here that Cocó feels most free to be herself. While Ane is well-meaning, she is distracted by her own troubles, and is going through an identity crisis of her own.
Reminiscent of Céline Sciamma’s Tomboy in its considered authenticity, 20,000 Species of Bees offers a child’s eye view of growing up, delving into its lead’s struggles with humanity and grace.
Trailers & clips
More at Chapter
-
- Film
Despicable Me 4 (U)
Gru and his family are forced to go on the run when facing Maxime le Mal.
-
- Film
Kneecap (18)
A fierce, thrilling, funny fable of the rebellious rap trio, with pulsating hip hop beats
-
- Film
Paradise is Burning (15)
Three sisters fend for themselves when their mother is absent, leading to complications.
-
- Film
Between the Temples (15)
A cantor going through a crisis has his world turned upside down by his old music teacher.