Born and raised in Mexico, Damiana Acuña holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory. She was selected by HBO and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for the Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today program and participated in Cine Qua Non Lab’s Script Revision Lab in 2020 with her feature script Aurum: The Color of Saturn. Her short film Lux Noctis won the Oscar^®-qualifying Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Florida Film Festival and was considered for the 2023 Academy Awards—Oscars^® Best Live Action Short Film category. Her visual poem Aurum premiered on Pantaya and Dish Latino and her short film Campos de Oro, commissioned by the National Basketball Association, is currently in post-production. Damiana has also directed national and international commercials for major brands such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.

Lux Noctis — In an isolated matriarchal community, facing the brutal coming-of-age rituals women must go through to ensure their survival, Lina burns the status quo to the ground and lights the path for a new way of life.