Motel Paraiso

TIFF.25 - What's Up, Doc?

TIFF 2026

Section: What's Up, Doc?
Director: Jose Eduardo Castilla Ponce
Cast: Daniel Ponce San Román, Lourdes Toledo Farrera
Duration: 1h 30m
Country: Mexico
Year: 2026

Using the same handycam his grandfather once used to film him as a child, the filmmaker turns the camera back on his grandfather, the irreverent owner of a small roadside motel on the Gulf of Mexico. While one camera observes his daily life, another recreates his peculiar stories through staged scenes inspired by different cinematic genres. Between these two gazes emerges the portrait of a man, and of a marriage, trying to withstand the passage of time.