Northern Skies Over Empty Space

Northern Skies Over Empty Space (Spanish: El norte sobre el vacío) is a 2022 Mexican drama film directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella and written by Abella & Gabriel Nuncio, starring Gerardo Trejoluna and Paloma Petra. It is inspired by a true story where a Mexican cowboy and hunter, named Don Alejo Garza, defended his ranch from organized crime, who wanted to take it from him in 2010. It won the Best Mexican Feature Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor awards for Gerardo Trejoluna at the 20th Morelia International Film Festival, as well as Best Movie in the Arieles.

Synopsis
Don Reynaldo is a renowned hunter on the decline, but when the threat of losing his inheritance and his father's legacy looms, his entire life is turned dangerously upside down.

Cast
The actors participating in this film are:
 * Gerardo Trejoluna as Don Reynaldo
 * Paloma Petra as Rosa
 * Dolores Heredia as Sofía
 * Mayra Hermosillo as Lily
 * Francisco Barreiro as Elías
 * Mariana Villegas as Laura
 * Fernando Bonilla as Raúl
 * Juan Daniel García Treviño as Tello
 * Raúl Briones as Guzmán
 * Marco García as Arnulfo
 * Yahir Alday as Braulio
 * Gabriel Almaguer as Wenceslao
 * Bebo Cantú as Félix
 * Gabriel Nuncio as Pepón
 * Camille Mina as Vicky
 * Pato Alvarado as Adrián
 * Diego García as Beto
 * Mariel Alanís as Isis
 * Aglae Lingow as Bunny
 * Leonardo Huerta as Clown
 * Carlos Lenin as Cousin 1
 * Ernesto Treviño as Cousin 2
 * Oliver Cantú Lozano as Cowboy 1
 * Hamish Anderson as Cowboy 2

Production
Principal photography took place in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, Mexico, where they had to deal with organized crime to film in peace.

Release
Northern Skies Over Empty Space had its international premiere on February 12, 2022, at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival as part of the Panorama selection. It premiered internationally on October 28, 2022, on Amazon Prime Video.

Critical reception
Lee Marshall from Screendaily wrote: "The bravura of the transition between grim school drama and western, and the way the two genres coexist and intertwine, make it so rich [...] Outstanding performances from Trejoluna and Petra". Ernesto Diezmartínez from Letras Libres wrote: "The premise is compelling and, at least in the first few minutes, Márquez Abella promises a mocking take on heroism, virility, and toxic patriarchy ... Unfortunately, in the second part the film completely collapses, between dispersion and indecision: the class tensions between Don Reynaldo and all his employees –especially with the bragada Rosita– are more than obvious but are handled in a confusing way, there are telegraphed twists that go nowhere".