Ever wondered why anyone would want to become a bullfighter? What would make a seven-year-old knowingly tackle his mortality at such a young age? Victoria Clay-Mendoza asks herself this intriguing question in her feature debut, Maletilla. Taking as a starting point her desire to know why her father suddenly became a bullfighter at age 39, the director begins a four-year journey into the existential mysteries of this bloody but beautiful relationship between a bull and a man. Following the careers of three up-and-coming bullfighting apprentices, Maletilla brings to the screen an exquisite sense of detail, a wealth of unanswered questions, and kaleidoscopic collage of images you’ll not soon forget.  RD