Indigenous sci-fi made-in-Leith, Itu Ninu is a green-produced film exploring themes of identity, resistance & hope under a futuristic surveillance state in 2084.
Synopsis
Indigenous sci-fi, green-produced in Leith. Set in 2084, Itu Ninu offers a quietly radical vision of a smart city where climate migrants Ángel and Sofía live under constant surveillance. Amidst the concrete towers, under watchful, ever-present digital eyes, Ángel tends rooftop gardens and preserves seeds. When he discovers that Sofía shares his Mixtec heritage, they begin exchanging handwritten letters, each looped stroke an act of resistance against digital erasure.
Filmed as a green production in Leith, Itu Ninu embraces natural light, second-hand sets, and minimal emissions. Fly-on-the-wall camerawork and evocative visuals reveal a world where language becomes a lifeline. The film celebrates Indigenous futurism, honoring ancestral knowledge while imagining new worlds. In its understated reflection, Itu Ninu poses urgent questions about migration, identity, and the power of words, reminding us that connection—written, spoken, shared—can thrive even in the most policed spaces.
Director: Itandehui Jansen | Country: Mexico/UK | Year: 2023 | Running Time: 72 min | Language: English, and Mixtex with English subtitles | Rating: 12A
Distributor: Itandehui Jansen
Screening Details
- Festival Screening: 14 September 2025
- Festival Guests: Director Itandehui Jansen and producer/actor Armando Bautista García
Trailer
About the filmmaker:
Itandehui Jansen is a filmmaker born in Oaxaca, Mexico, and trained at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam. Her award-winning documentaries and short films have screened at IDFA, Slamdance, London Short Film Festival, ZINEBI, and the Morelia International Film Festival. Her short The Last Council earned multiple international accolades and a Diosa de Plata Mexican Film Critics Award nomination. A Berlinale Talents and Torino Film Lab alumna, she is currently Associate Professor of Film at Screen Academy Scotland in Edinburgh.