lujuria directed by Iñaki Aguilar

Iñaki Aguilar’s Lujuria is a compact, intense debut feature that revisits religious desire and control through the eyes of a young Mexican pilgrim. The film follows Mateo, a 22-year-old whose search for redemption in Spain leads him into the orbit of Dolores and a violent religious community, a spiral that turns longing into survival.

Aguilar wears multiple hats on the project: writer, director and co-editor, signaling an auteur approach typical of low-budget first features. The principal cast includes Arashi Méndez, Antonio Delosantos and Carmen Podio, while key crew credits list Carlos Solis Escribano as producer, Erick (Patrick) Torrico on cinematography, and Miguel Ángel Navarro sharing editing duties. Composer and sound collaborators give the film a tightly controlled mood that supports its religious-horror leanings.

The film’s production was modest and rooted in Spain, shot in and around Madrid/Rivas, a choice that grounded its rural-religious settings in real locations and helped the crew maximize production value on a constrained budget. Aguilar’s background as a Mexico-born filmmaker working in Madrid informed the cross-cultural pilgrimage at the story’s core.

After a 2024 shoot schedule, Lujuria completed postproduction in mid-2025 and began screening on the festival circuit: it was selected for Sitges and screened (and won) at Galacticat, signalling early critical attention for Aguilar’s daring tone and visual sensitivity. Festivals have highlighted the film’s mixture of intimate performance work and a stark visual palette that foregrounds faith, desire and control.

As an opera prima, Lujuria marks Iñaki Aguilar as a filmmaker to watch, someone willing to blend personal themes with genre edges, working resourcefully with a small team to produce a striking, debate-provoking first feature.