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 for the Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today program and participated in Cine Qua Non Lab’s Script Revision Lab in 2020. Her short film Lux Noctis won the Oscar^®-qualifying Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Florida Film Festival, the Best Female Perspective Short at Glasgow’s World of Film International Film Festival and was included in festivals such as CAA Moebius, Encounters, Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival and Guanajuato International Film Festival, amongst others, before being considered in 2023 for the Academy Awards-Oscars^® Best Live Action Short Film category. Her visual poem Aurum premiered on Pantaya and Dish Latino and her most recent short film, Campos de Oro, was commissioned by the National Basketball Association. Damiana has also directed commercials for brands such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. Her poetic and visual storytelling focuses on female-led narratives that hunt for the sublime through the mystical and the profound.

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.