Eight-year-old Santa (Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda) frees her mother from the hands of an abusive father. Infused with the powers of a goldfish she swallowed whole, she sets off on a fantastical road trip toward a heaven in the sky she believes is as real as the ground beneath her. On her journey through the otherworldly Bolivian Altiplano, she tests the faith of a priest, befriends a troupe of cholita wrestlers, and clashes with a burnt-out cop grieving the death of his wife. Eyes firmly on the horizon, she leaves a trail of miracles in her wake and prompts her unlikely followers to question everything they believed was possible.

Shot on location in Bolivia with an eye-popping color palette, Spanish filmmaker Alberto Sciamma's magical realist road movie bursts with empathy and wonder. Clint Worthington at RogerEbert.com calls it "a deeply sincere fantasy drama that can tug on even the firmest of heartstrings," and Dennis Harvey at Variety praises its "considerable ambition, aesthetic beauty and bittersweet enchantment."

Winner of 9 awards internationally, including Special Jury Award, Audience Award, and Best Cinematography at Fantasporto 2025; Best Cinematography at Fantasia 2025; and Best Film and Best Actor at ARFECine Buenos Aires 2025. Official Selection, SXSW London and Fantasia 2025.

Director Alberto Sciamma, Bolivia/UK, 2025, color, 108 min. In Spanish with English subtitles.

A visually ravishing dream of a movie. Stunningly strange and beautiful.

Mark Kermode, MK3D / BBC

A deeply sincere fantasy drama that can tug on even the firmest of heartstrings. A staggeringly honest child performance.

Clint Worthington, ROGER EBERT

Bunuel’s prankishness and doubt, if not his outright disdain toward organized religion.

Dennis Harvey, VARIETY

Alberto Sciamma’s story is not a fairy tale. It is, rather, a prayer.

Rita Andreetti, TAXIDRIVER

A sublime parable, transporting the viewer skywards even as it unearths grounded truths.

Anton Bitel, PROJECTED FIGURES

Cielo is a miracle...it will make you believe in the potential of cinema as not only an art ofnourishment, but of renewal.

Maxance Vincent, LOUD & CLEAR

Fernanda deserves all possible acting awards. It’s been a long time since I saw a child so talented, so in control of her character.

Fabilipo, JÁ VIU?

Cielo is every reason we go to the movies.

Sean Parker, 25 YEARS LATER SITE

It moves you to tears and you may not even know why. The effect is cumulative, almost alchemical. Cielo offers a cinema of the soul.

Lena Ghio, THE LENA GHIO PARADOX

A film to be felt more than explained.

Benjamin Scott, MUNDO PELÍCULAS

Cielo stuns with its sincerity and optimism in a world too often marred by pain.

J Hurtado, SCREENANARCHY

The film unlocks an inner wonder that’s just waiting to break free.

Bee Delores, BSIDESBADLANDS

Sonoma International Film Festival
Sonoma, CA
March 25-29, 2026

42nd Chicago Latino Film Festival
Chicago, IL
April 22 and 26, 2026

Quad Cinema
New York City, NY
Opens June 26, 2026

Laemmle Theaters
Los Angeles, CA
July 3, 2026

Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM
July 10 - 16, 2026