The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (Spanish:La misteriosa mirada del flamenco) is a 2025drama film written and directed by Diego Céspedes, in his feature debut. Starring Tamara Cortés, Matías Catalán and Paula Dinamarca, it follows a 12-year-old Lidia as she navigates fear and prejudice when a mysterious illness threatens her queer family in a remote mining town in 1980's northern Chile.
1982. Eleven-year-old Lidia lives with her beloved queer family in a desert mining town in northern Chile. As an unknown and deadly disease begins to spread, legend has it that it is transmitted through a simple glance, when two people fall in love. While people are accusing her family, Lidia must find out whether this myth is real or not.
In 2019, Diego Céspedes participated inCannes'Cinéfondation Residence to develop the film.[2] In 2020, the project participated at the Ikusmira Berriak, held during theSan Sebastián International Film Festival.[3] It won the TFL Production Award at the 2020TorinoFilmLab and received €50,000 production grant.[4] In 2021, it also participated at the Producers Summit of theSundance Institute.[5] In November 2021, it was reported that French production companyLes Valseurs would co-produce the film.[6] It was selected to participate at the 2022Venice's Gap-Financing Market.[7][8] In November 2023, it received a €139,000 production grant fromEurimages.[9] In May 2024, it was reported that German production company Weydemann Bros Films would co-produce the film.[10] In April 2025, it was announced that Charades had acquired the film's international sales rights.[11]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 95% of 41 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo uses rich magical realism and vividly realized characters to poetically explore queer resistance, found family, and the power of empathy over fear."[19] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 7 critics, which the site labels as "generally favorable" reviews.[20]
