Diego Luna returned to the Cannes Film Festival this week with his fourth narrative feature, “Ashes,” a Spanish‑language migration drama that drew a prolonged standing ovation.
Sixteen years after his directorial debut “Abel” played at Cannes — and 25 years after he broke through as an actor in the international hit “Y Tu Mamá También” — Luna showed “Ashes” in the festival’s Special Screenings program, out of competition.
The roughly 100-minute movie — whose Spanish title is “Ceniza en la boca” (“A Mouthful of Ash”) — is based on Mexico City–born Brenda Navarro’s novel, a finalist for the 2023 Mario Vargas Llosa Biennial Prize. “Ashes” is the official English title.
It follows two siblings who travel from Mexico to Spain to reunite with their mother, an undocumented worker navigating life on the economic margins.
“It’s about those who have to find another place,” Luna, 46, said of the film, which he also co-wrote.
The world premiere took place Wednesday in the Buñuel Theatre at the Palais des Festivals, where Luna was joined by his close friend and “Y Tu Mamá” costar Gael García Bernal, the movie’s executive producer, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.
The screening elicited a five- to six-minute standing ovation, according to posts on social media, and has been praised for its emotional depth in tackling issues of migration, family wounds and identity.
Cannes general delegate Thierry Frémaux introduced “Ashes” by saying it’s “a film that stays with you.”
Adriana Paz, who shared Cannes’ best female performance award in 2024 for “Emilia Pérez,” stars as the mother.
“I’m so happy to be in Cannes with this film,” Paz said. “Thank you, Diego, for bringing me back.”
A former child actor in Mexican telenovelas, Luna went on to star in Hollywood blockbusters such as “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and in series such as Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico.”
He also plays the lead in “México 86,” which will debut on Netflix on June 5, just days before the 2026 World Cup kicks off in Mexico City. The comedy-drama is about how Mexico landed the 1986 World Cup after Colombia withdrew as host country due to economic and political problems.
“Ashes” also will be on Netflix, but so far only in Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Beyond that, no U.S. theatrical distributor or streaming partner has been announced, nor is there a release date.
A year ago, Luna made noise when he guest-hosted on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and gave a staunch defense of immigrants in the United States and denounced what he called “the authoritarian policies” of President Donald Trump. The next day, his monologue was lauded by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
This week, Luna cited his desire to explore migration and empathy as reasons for returning to big-screen directing. His last feature was 2016’s “Mr. Pig,” about an aging U.S. pig farmer who heads to Mexico with his beloved prize hog.
“The fear, the ignorance, the hate we are seeing around migration, this is the way to fight that — reflecting on it, telling stories, trying to get you close to understand the story of just one person who can’t live where they belong,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
With reports from Milenio, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter
