ON THE ROAD
by David Pablos
Mexico, 2025, 93'
A rebellious drifter hitches a ride with a lone trucker. As their intimacy deepens on the road, ghosts of the past catch up with them at each truck stop —and danger closes in
‘Veneno’, a rebellious young drifter, frequents roadside diners where he sleeps with truck drivers. Urgently needing a ride, he meets ‘Muñeco’, a hard-edged driver who keeps to himself. He convinces Muñeco to take him deep into the hyper-masculine world of long-haul trucking across the north of Mexico. As they travel together and an unexpected intimacy builds between them, shadows from Veneno’s past resurface, putting both their lives at risk.
Reviews
"An Extremely Tough, Incredibly Tender Story"
"this burgeoning love story is also a racy, turbo-charged thriller"
"His movie is punishing and painful, but filled with promise."
"blending trauma and tenderness, it builds into a tense, touching tale that should attract arthouse audiences drawn by the originality of the storytelling"
"Erotically charged, noir-infused thriller"
"a starkly distinctive genre workout"
"the film steers a straightforward premise into surprisingly fraught emotional territory"
"Functions with brisk efficiency as a thriller on the surface, but is most knotty and compelling as a study of compromised queer bonding and cornered masculinity"
News
-
Diego Luna & David Pablos: ON THE ROAD - exclusive trailer + interview
-
new acquisition: ON THE ROAD by David Pablos
-
sales news: North American deal for ON THE ROAD
-
sales news: ON THE ROAD goes to Australia, New Zealand, U.K. and Ireland, Hong Kong and Macau
-
sales news: ON THE ROAD has been acquired by Filmware (Taiwan), Festival Films (Spain) and Salzgeber (Germany).
-
sales news: ON THE ROAD sells to Italy
Awards
Orizzonti Award for Best Film - Venice IFF 2025
Queer Lion Award - Venice IFF 2025
Ojito for Best Actor in a Mexican Feature Film (Víctor Miguel Prieto and Osvaldo Sánchez); Best Cinematography (Ximena Amann) - Morelia IFF 2025
Best Actor - Osvaldo Sánchez - Cineuropa (ES) 2025
Festivals
World Premiere: Venice IFF Orizzonti 2025
CineFest (HU) 2025
Warsaw IFF 2025
Bangkok IFF 2025
Morelia IFF 2025
Warsaw IFF 2025
Thessaloniki IFF 2025
MOSTRA Sao Paulo IFF 2025
SEMINCI (Valladolid IFF) 2025
Mezipatra Queer FF 2025
Manheim Heilderberg FF 2025
QCinema IFF 2025
Chéries-Chéris 2025
Cineuropa (ES) 2025
QUEERCINEMAD 2025
Havana IFF 2025
Ljubljana LGBT FF 2025
CineSesc 2026
Göteborg FF 2026
Cast & Crew
With: Victor Prieto Simental, Osvaldo Sanchez Valenzuela
Producers: Inna Payan; Luis Salinas; Diego Luna; Enrique Nava
Production companies: Animal de luz films
Co-producers: La corriente del golfo; The Maestros Cine; EFD Studios; Terminal Films; Producciones año bisiesto
David Pablos
David Pablos is a Mexican writer and director whose films have received 26 nominations at the Ariel Awards (Mexico’s national film academy awards). He is known for films such as Dance of the 41 (2021, Netflix) and The Chosen Ones (2015). He directed the first four episodes of Amazon’s action western series The Head of Joaquín Murrieta (2023), which premiered in over 240 countries and territories.
The Chosen Ones competed at the Cannes, San Sebastián, Zurich, and Stockholm Film Festivals. The film was nominated for the Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film and won five Ariel Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Breakthrough Performance.
His debut feature, The Life After, premiered at the Venice Biennale and won awards at the Morelia International Film Festival.
David holds an MFA from Columbia University. He is a member of Mexico’s National System of Art Creators and of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood.
PRESS KIT