Born in Mexico City, Damiana Acuña graduated summa cum laude from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Film. As a recipient of the Mexican scholarship FONCA-CONACYT, Damiana moved to Los Angeles to pursue an M.F.A. in Film Directing at the American Film Institute Conservatory. For two consecutive years, she was selected as an emerging Mexican filmmaker by the Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today program in collaboration with HBO and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Her award winning first short film, L de Luz, screened at numerous film festivals around the world and, during quarantine, Damiana shot a short piece with her phone that reflects the mood and spirit of what will become her debut feature. Aurum, the tone poem, premiered on Pantaya. Damiana’s poetic visual storytelling focuses on female-led, magical realism narratives that hunt for the sublime through the ethereal, the profound and the philosophical.

Aurum — Ari lost her sister to suicide seven years ago. As she turns her sister’s age, Ari begins to believe that her sister is trying to contact her.