# The Hole in the Fence

The Hole in the Fence (Spanish: El hoyo en la cerca) is a 2021 Mexican-Polish thriller drama film directed by Joaquin del Paso and written by del Paso and Lucy Pawlak. Starring Valeria Lamm, Lucciano Kurti, Yubáh Ortega & Erick Walker. The film was named on the shortlist for Mexican's entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, but it was not selected.

## Synopsis

Every year at Centro Escolar Los Pinos, a renowned religious private school for boys, sends “the children of the Mexican elite” to a summer camp in the countryside. Under the watchful eye of their teachers and priests, the boys are strengthened physically, morally and in their faith. But then they discover a hole in the fence surrounding the camp.

## Cast

The actors participating in this film are:
* Valeria Lamm as Jordi de la Torre
* Lucciano Kurti as Joaquín
* Jacek Poniedzialek as Professor Sztuhr
* Yubáh Ortega Iker Fernández as Eduardo
* Santiago Barajas Hamue as Diego
* Eric David Walker as Diego Peña
* Enrique Lascurain as Professor Monteros
* Diego Lozano as Josue
* Carlos Morett as "The Rat"
* Shota Yamada as Shota
* Raul Vasconcelos as Edwin
* Giovanni Conconi as Fito Salinas
* Pedro Nájera Contreras as Lolo
* José Alfredo Nájera Nuevo as Alfredo Juan
* Adolfo Osorio as "El Lunes"
* Bárbara Hernández as Selena
* Gabriel Fritsch as Chi Chi
* Takahiro Murokawa as Professor Tanaka
* Marcela Rendon as Josue's mom
* Raúl Nájera as Gardener 2
* Carlos Morett Joaquin Mcarthy as "The Fetus"
* Juan Pablo Ferreiro Soria as "The Ricky"
* Rafael Ayala as "The Güero"
* Charles Oppenheim as Professor Barquette
* Jerónimo Bahamón González as Alfredito
* Emilio Rojas Monico as Alfonso Juan
* Patrick Mcarthy as Chicharito
* Eduardo Nájera Contreras as Dante
* Héctor Kuri Hernandez Romo as Mario

## Release

The film had its international premiere on September 3, 2021, at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. On October 4, 2021, it screened at the 58th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, it also screened at the BFI London Film Festival in the middle of the same month. It was commercially released on June 9, 2022, in Mexican theaters.

## Reception
### Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10.
David Katz from Cineuropa wrote: "This is an eminently well-made, well-designed and watchable piece of work, with fine, improvisational performances from young adolescents acting for the first time. It may be an odd claim to make in light of the Michel Franco comparison, but The Hole in the Fence still undoes itself slightly because of its sensationalist tone and the vaguer aspects of its harsh critique of religious education. When a film is both political and incoherent, the former element loses its sting."

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2021 | Cairo International Film Festival | Best Film | The Hole in the Fence | Won |
| 2021 | Hollywood Music In Media Awards | Best Original Score - Independent Film (Foreign Language) | Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein | Nominated |
| 2021 | Huelva Festival - Ibero-American Cinema | Best Film | The Hole in the Fence | Nominated |
| 2021 | Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival | Best International Film | The Hole in the Fence | Nominated |
| 2021 | Morelia International Film Festival | Best Film | The Hole in the Fence | Nominated |
| 2021 | Morelia International Film Festival | Best Director | Joaquin del Paso | Nominated |
| 2021 | Venice Film Festival | Queer Lion | Joaquin del Paso | Nominated |
| 2021 | Venice Film Festival | Best Film | The Hole in the Fence | Nominated |
| 2021 | Warsaw International Film Festival | Competition 1-2 Award - Best Film | The Hole in the Fence | Nominated |
| 2022 | FICUNAM UNAM International Film Festival | Best Mexican Film | The Hole in the Fence | Nominated |
| 2022 | Ariel Award | Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | Joaquin del Paso & Lucy Pawlak | Nominated |
| 2022 | Ariel Award | Best Sound | Guido Berenblum, Santiago Arroyo, Jaime Baksht & Michelle Couttolenc | Nominated |
| 2022 | Ariel Award | Best Original Score | Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein | Nominated |
| 2022 | Ariel Award | Best Costume Design | Ursula Schneider | Nominated |
| 2022 | Ariel Award | Best Editing | Paloma López | Nominated |
| 2023 | Canacine Awards, MX | Best Newcomer - Male | Yubah Ortega | Nominated |