During a sabbatical in Mexico, Belgian journalist Ivan follows the trail of the enigmatic writer Celestino Pérez. Upon arriving in the village where he is supposed to live, the author is nowhere to be found. The writer’s family welcomes Ivan, who, fascinated by the strange daily life of the household, finds himself drawn into an unexpected confinement. As the days pass, his own experience begins to dissolve into the imagined portrait of Celestino.
Fascinated by the apparent opposition between strangeness and familiarity, and inspired by his own embodied experience as a foreigner living in Mexico, Hans Bryssinck started to explore the notion of the intruder, the limits of hospitality, and how a strangeness lurks within each of us. Celestino is his first feature fiction film.
Written & directed by Hans Bryssinck
Director of photography Rosa Hadit
Art director Mara Ugalde
Editor Julieta Seco
Sound recording Gert Verboven
Sound design & mix Matthias Hillegeer
Costumes Diana Montesinos
Casting Ana Patricia Ortiz Ayala
Grading Xavier Dockx
Harpsichord performance George van Dam
Delegate producer Gert Verboven, Mountain View
Coproducer Hans Bryssinck, SPIN
Executive producers Humberto Hinojosa & Pablo García
Line producer Wannes Gevaert
Production coordinator Daniel Loustaunau
Post-production coordinator Gert Verboven
With
Jonathan Capdevielle
Martha Claudia Moreno
Sandra Celedón
Kerygma Flores
Evangelina Martínez
And with
Alexandro Guerrero, Aniceto Neri Quijano, Celestino Luna Ordaz, Cristo Anubis Neri Cruz, Gilberto Compañ Montero, Iván Philippe Campos Thomas, Oliveria Tapia Bautista, Patricia Sánchez García
Assistant director Marimar Herrerías Pliego
Assistant photography Diego Gómez Leyva
Gaffer Altagracia Hernández Frías
Assistant art director Mariana Acosta Gutiérrez
Casting assistant César Calderón
Production assistant Rafael García Cornejo
Sound assistant Joren Gorge
Additional editing Hans Bryssinck, Fairuz Ghamman
Additional sounds George van Dam
Swings Alan Zetina, Fernando Merino Campos
Local swing Celestino Luna Ordaz
Make up coach Fernanda Espinosa
Dialogue coach Oliver Rendón
Catering Dora Olivares Mendoza, Eunice Reyes Olivares, Yazmine Reyes Olivares, Sopa de Letras
Location scouting Hans Bryssinck, Wannes Gevaert, Manuel Antonio Guerrero García, Mara Ugalde, Barbara Van Lindt
Script collaborators Jonathan Capdevielle, Julieta Seco
Script advice Manuel Antonio Guerrero García, Juan Francisco Maldonado, Anneleen Masschelein, Elisa Puerto Aubel, Juan Rocha, Daniel Zuluaga
Additional voice and author of the book Juan Francisco Maldonado
Research assistant Michelle Sáenz
Artistic advice Fairuz Ghamman, Manuel Antonio Guerrero García, Benny Vandendriesche
Music advice Rosendo Ehekamikiztli, Rolando Hernández, Nadia Lartigue Zaslavsky
Extras
Alberto Cerecedo Téllez, Aldo Morales Cortes, Alejandro Cornelio Chávez González, Alejandro Diaz Diaz, Arlett Hernández Lechuga, Arlett Lechuga Mercado, Atilana Hernández Hernández, Augusto Vinícius Marquot Colmenares, Berenice Luna Hernández, Cándida Burgos Hernández, Carlos Valente Hernández Cortes, Daniel Martínez Hernández, Diana Oliva Gómez Montesinos, Domitila Cortes Hernández, Eduardo Raúl Sosa Serrano, Eduardo Villegas Martínez, Estefanía Bustos Patricio, Eusebio Bañuelos González, Francisco Hernández Cerecedo, Francisco Javier Martínez Lazcano, Gerardo Alejandro Garay Balanzar, Gloria Guadalupe Soto González, Guadalupe del Rosario López Pacheco, Guadalupe Meneses Hernández, Héctor Alarcón Sagaón, Idalia Lara de la Cruz, Ingrid Guadalupe Hernández Escalante, Isidora Suarez Ortega, Ismael Hernández Burgos, J. Carmen Hernández Hernández, Jesús Ugalde Téllez, Jhonatán Juan Meneses, José Rafael Flores Chávez, José Saul Mercado Rumo, Juan Manuel Hernández Burgos, Keren Betzabe Villegas Campos, Linda Hortencia Velasco Rodríguez, Lorenza Bustos Hernández, Luis Antonio Lannini Ordañez, Luz María García Munguía, Manuel Antonio Guerrero García, Marco Antonio Vega Olavarría, María Félix Clemente Hernández, Martin Mora Serrano, Martin Ramírez Rangel, Meleyde Yanet Álvarez Velasco, Melissa Yaneth Hernández Álvarez, Miguel A. Acosta García, Moisés Chávez González, Octavio Tomas Franco Baqué, Pablo Álvarez Vázquez, Paola García De La Cruz, Pedro Fermín Cortes Hernández, Petra Angela Rodríguez Cerecedo, Raúl Felipe Rivera Rojas, Raymundo Pacheco Soto, Rey Carpio Martínez, Rey Omar Aguilar Hernández, Santiago Suarez Ruiz, Yuri Adolfo López Lara
Studios Colectivo Colmena, Galia Eibenschutz
Editing facilities Mountain View
Additional editing facilities Cassette for timescapes, Lutz Bauman & Alma Quintana, Fairuz Ghamman
ADR studio Sostudio, René García
Translations Richard Moszka, Viviana Muñoz Krauss, Sonia Noya
Subtitles Hans Bryssinck, Nadia Lartigue Zaslavsky, Aurélien Garcia
Titles, credits & poster Alejandra Acosta Chávez
A production of Mountain View
A coproduction of Spin
This production was made with the support of THE FLANDERS AUDIOVISUAL FUND (VAF), The Corona Emergency Fund of the Flanders government and the Belgian Tax Shelter via Flanders Tax Shelter And with the support of Beursschouwburg, BUDA, Colectivo Colmena, nona, VIERNULVIER
Contributing partner Martha Claudia Moreno
Special thanks to Simone Thomas Giraud, Iván Campos Thomas, Tania Campos Thomas and Alexandro Guerrero
In loving memory of Jaime Humberto Hermosillo and Marta Aura Palacios
Filmed on location in Tianguistengo, Hidalgo & Mexico City
2025
