81 minutes / 2019 / Color
Director / Producer / Cinematographer / Editor
Produced by Kellen Quinn and Luke Lorentzen
Producers: Elena Fortes and Daniela Alatorre
In Mexico City, the government operates fewer than 45 emergency ambulances for a population of 9 million. This has spawned an underground industry of for-profit ambulances often run by people with little or no training or certification. An exception in this ethically fraught, cutthroat industry, the Ochoa family struggles to keep their financial needs from jeopardizing the people in their care. When a crackdown by corrupt police pushes the family into greater hardship, they face increasing moral dilemmas even as they continue providing essential emergency medical services.
Publicity: Jenna Martin – jmartin[at]1091media.com
Sales: Salma Abdalla – salma[at]autlookfilms.com
SELECTED PRESS:
"Outstanding... Fantastically shot by the director Luke Lorentzen, the documentary develops an urgency that suits the life-or-death stakes onscreen. By turns terrifying and exhilarating, “Midnight Family” unfolds with such velocity that it may take a while for your ethical doubts to catch up to what’s happening. When they do, they leave you gasping."
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times Critic’s Pick
“Arguably the most exhilarating documentary to come out of Sundance this year, Midnight Family follows the Ochoa family—the gruff but compassionate Fer and his two underage sons, Juan and Josué—at intensely close range on these Sisyphean missions of mercy.“
– Museum of Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center
Included in the “10 Best Movies of Sundance 2019"
"A deft mix of big-picture doc-making and intimate moments... not to mention a wild—and remarkably eye-opening—ride.”
– David Fear, Rolling Stone
“This 81-minute masterpiece will change the way you look at documentaries forever; its style reads like an action movie, its themes like a socio-political drama, and, yet, it still is very much a work of non-fiction, with a camera always exactly positioned to capture a society on the brink of moral collapse."
– Jordan Ruimy, The Playlist
“Profound and thrilling cinema verite filmmaking. The film is impeccably crafted by Luke Lorentzen… What matters most here is Lorentzen’s intuition—he knows during many stunning moments just where to put the camera in such close quarters, letting us observe as harrowing drama and cinematic poetry unfolds… 'Midnight Family' is extremely visceral in the best way.”
– Nick Allen, Roger Ebert.com
Included in “21 Must-See Movies” at Sundance
"An intimate verite documentary... the Ochoas emerge as fascinating embodiments of a country working overtime to correct its shortcomings and keep the lights on. This bracing U.S. competition documentary is poised to provide a personal window into the fast-paced mayhem of Mexico after dark."
– Eric Kohn, Indiewire
AVAILABLE ON APPLE-TV, AMAZON, GOOGLE PLAY, VUDU
AWARDS:
Oscars Shortlist, Best Documentary Feature
Special Jury Award for Cinematography, Sundance
Best Film, Guadalajara International Film Festival
Best Director, Guadalajara International Film Festival
Premio Guerrero de la Prensa, Red de Prensa Mexicana
Special Jury Mention, F:act Award, CPH:DOX
Best Documentary, Hong Kong International Film Festival
Cine Latino Documentary Audience Award, MSPIFF
Grand Prix, Kaliningrad Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, Calgary Underground Film Festival
Special Jury Prize for Cinematography, Montclair Film Festival
Audience Award, Cine Las Americas
TRT International Documentary Awards, Turkey, Third Place
Bravery Award, Mammoth Lakes Film Festival
Grand Jury Award, Sheffield Doc/Fest
Top Prize, Underhill Fest, Montenegro
Grand Jury Prize, Gimli Film Festival
Best Mexican Documentary, Guanajuato Film Festival
Best Documentary, Spirit of Freedom, Jerusalem Film Festival
Best Mexican Documentary, DOQUMENTA, Queretaro
Special Jury Mention, Monterrey International Film Festival
Grand Prix, Message to Man Film Festival, Saint Petersburg
Russian Press Prize, Message to Man Film Festival
IFFS Prize, Message to Man Film Festival
Special Jury Mention, Zurich Film Festival
Best Documentary, Bergen International Film Festival
IDA Documentary Awards, Winner, Best Editing
IDA Documentary Awards, Nominee, Best Feature
IDA Documentary Awards, Nominee, Best Cinematography
Cinema Eye Honors, Best Film Nominee
Cinema Eye Honors, Best Cinematography Nominee
Cinema Eye Honors, Best Production Nominee
Cinema Eye Honors, Unforgettables, Juan Ochoa, Nominee
Golden Frog for Best Documentary, EnergaCAMERIMAGE
Best Documentary, Films from the South, Oslo
Special Jury Mention, Monterrey International Film Festival
Maysles Brothers Award, Special Jury Mention, Denver Film Festival
FIPRESCI Rellumes Award for Best Director, Gijón Film Festival
Best Film, WatchDocs International Film Festival, Warsaw
Grand Jury Award, Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival
Ariel Awards, Nominee, Best Documentary Feature
Grierson Awards, Nominee, Best Cinema Documentary
FESTIVAL SCREENINGS:
Sundance Film Festival, Park City, January 2019
Cartagena International Film Festival, March 2019
Guadalajara International Film Festival, March 2019
Ambulante Mexico, March-May 2019
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen, March 2019
Hong Kong International Film Festival, March 2019
Lost Weekend, Winchester, VA, March 2019
New Directors/New Films, MoMA, Lincoln Center, March 2019
DocVille Belgium, Brussels, March 2019
Houston Latino Film Festival, March 2019
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham, April 2019
Minneapolis International Film Festival, April 2019
Sarasota Film Festival, April 2019
ACT Human Rights Festival, Fort Collins, April 2019
San Francisco International Film Festival, April 2019
Night Visions, Helsinki, April 2019
Freep Film Festival, Detroit, April 2019
Dallas Film Festival, April 2019
DOC10, Chicago, April 2019
International Film Festival of Uruguay, April 2019
HotDocs, Toronto, April 2019
Calgary Underground Film Festival, April 2019
IFF Boston, April 2019
Riverside Saginaw Film Festival, Michigan, April 2019
TRT Documentary Days, Istanbul, April 2019
Kaliningrad Film Festival, April 2019
Cine Las Americas, Austin, May 2019
Montclair Film Festival, New Jersey, May 2019
EDOC, Quito, May 2019
Seattle Film Festival, May 2019
Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, May 2019
Krakow Film Festival, June 2019
Greenwich Film Festival, June 2019
Transylvania International Film Festival, June 2019
Sydney Film Festival, June 2019
Nantucket Film Festival, June 2019
Sheffield Doc/Fest, United Kingdom, June 2019
Curitiba International Film Festival, June 2019
Underhill Fest, Podgorica, Montenegro, June 2019
AFI DOCS, Washington, D.C., June 2019
Biografilm, Bologna, June 2019
Shanghai Film Festival, June 2019
Rooftop Films, New York City, June 2019
LA Latino Film Festival, July 2019
Semana de Cine Contemporáneo, Aguascalientes, July 2019
Taormina Film Festival, July 2019
Taipei Film Festival, July 2019
Maine Film Festival, July 2019
Durban International Film Festival, July 2019
New Zealand International Film Festival, July 2019
Guanajuato International Film Festival, July 2019
Gimli Film Fest, July 2019
Jerusalem Film Festival, July 2019
Traverse City, July 2019
Lima Film Festival, August 2019
Sakhalin on the Edge, August 2019
Stronger than Fiction, Canberra, August 2019
Melbourne International Film Festival, August 2019
DokuFest, Kosovo, August 2019
Lighthouse International, New Jersey, August 2019
Monterrey International Film Festival, August 2019
Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival, August 2019
Camden International Film Festival, September 2019
AFI Latin American Film Festival, September 2019
Message to the Man, St. Petersburg, September 2019
Festival de Cine México, Alemania CineMA, September 2019
Athens International Film Festival, September 2019
El Gouna International Film Festival, Egypt, September 2019
Helsinki International Film Festival, September 2019
IDFF Flahertiana, September 2019
Festival de Cine en el Desierto en Sonora, September 2019
Zurich Film Festival, September 2019
Vancouver International Film Festival, September 2019
Bergen International Film Festival, September 2019
Cineuropea, Santiago de Compostela, September 2019
Foro de Cineastas, Tamaulipas, September 2019
Black Canvas, Mexico City, October 2019
Brisbane International Film Festival, October 2019
Viva Mexico, Paris, October 2019
Film Fest Tuscon, October 2019
Peoria Film Festival, October 2019
FilmFest Cologne, October 2019
Hamptons International Film Festival, October 2019
Central Scotland Documentary Festival, October 2019
Lateinamerikanische Filmtage, Germany, October 2019
Tallgrass Film Festival, October 2019
Morelia Film Festival, October 2019
Latin American Doc Showcase, Puerto Rico, October 2019
True/False Community Screening, Colombia, October 2019
Vino Verite, Iowa City, October 2019
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, October 2019
Rockaway Film Festival, October 2019
Jio Mami, Mumbai, October 2019
Ânûû-rû Âboro Festival, New Caledonia, October 2019
Inconvenient Films, Lithuania, October 2019
Doctober, Pickford Film Center, Bellingham, October 2019
Teatteri Unio, Finland, October 2019
Unorthadocs, Wexner Arts Center, Colombus, October 2019
Cork Film Festival, Ireland, October 2019
Virginia Film Festival, October 2019
Viennale, Vienna, October 2019
Denver Film Festival, October 2019
Windsor Film Festival, October 2019
Stockholm International Film Festival, November 2019
Brattleboro Film Festival, November 2019
Movies from the South, Oslo, November 2019
DOC NYC, November 2019
Camerimage, Poland, November 2019
KCRW - The Document, Los Angeles, November 2019
Gijon Film Festival, Spain, November 2019
RIDM, Montreal, November 2019
IDFA, Amsterdam, November 2019
Festival Margenes, Spain, November 2019
Sevastopol Film Festival, Crimea, November 2019
Guangzhou Documentary Film Festival, November 2019
This Human World, Vienna, December 2019
Watch Docs, Poland, December 2019
Jerusalem Cinemateque, December 2019
Havana Film Festival, Cuba, December 2019
Festival del Puerto, Oaxaca, December 2019
William and Mary Global Film Festival, January 2020
Budapest International Documentary Festival, January 2020
Americana Film Festival, Barcelona, March 2020
Human Documentary Film Festival, Oslo, February 2020
Sedona International Film Festival, February 2020
Libre Cinema, Merida, February 2020
One World Film Festival, Prague, March 2020
ZagrebDox, March 2020
Dokfest Munchen, March 2020
Favourites Film Festival, Berlin & Bremen, March 2020
Luxembourg City Film Festival, March 2020
Movies that Matter, Amsterdam, March 2020
FCAEA, Nairobi, March 2020
Human Rights Film Festival, Geneva, March 2020
Lichter FilmFest, March 2020
