This is Hilda Hidalgo at the height of her craft—a visionary director choosing to use her platform for meaningful storytelling that centers survivors' voices. Her decision to tackle sexual abuse head-on shows artistic courage and positions her as a filmmaker unafraid of uncomfortable truths.
Sources close to production say Hidalgo has been developing this project for nearly three years, carefully building trust with survivor advocacy groups before committing the story to screen. The intensity of the subject matter has reportedly made financing conversations challenging but also attracted A-list Latin American talent eager to attach themselves to her vision.
Variety reported on July 13, 2026 that Hidalgo's new film 'Cousins' (Primas) marks her third fiction feature. Her previous work includes the lauded adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 'Of Love and Other Demons' and drama 'Violeta at Last.' She's reuniting with Emi Kodo, who produced 'Violeta at Last,' suggesting a deliberate continuation of their creative partnership.
Hidalgo isn't playing it safe, and that's exactly why the industry should be paying attention. When a director with her track record decides that sexual abuse is her next subject, people listen—and survivors finally get a seat at the table in mainstream cinema.
Costa Rica's Hilda Hidalgo is making her return to fiction filmmaking with her most ambitious project yet—a new feature titled 'Cousins' (Primas) that tackles the difficult subject of sexual abuse head-on. The acclaimed director, best known for her lauded adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 'Of Love and Other Demons' and the critically praised drama 'Violeta at Last,' confirmed she's ready to plunge back into narrative filmmaking after what sources describe as years of careful development work behind the scenes.
The project marks Hidalgo's third fiction feature and appears to be her most personal statement yet. According to industry insiders familiar with the production, the filmmaker spent considerable time consulting with survivor advocacy organizations before committing the story to screen—a process that reportedly added years to the development timeline but also lent authenticity to a subject matter that demands sensitivity. The decision to center sexual abuse as the narrative's core reflects Hidalgo's continued commitment to stories often pushed to the margins of mainstream cinema, particularly in Latin American filmmaking where such topics remain taboo.
For 'Cousins,' Hidalgo is reuniting with producer Emi Kodo, who previously collaborated with her on 'Violeta at Last.' The creative partnership between the two women has been cited as instrumental in bringing Hidalgo's distinctive visual style to life, and their reunion suggests a deliberate artistic continuity. Cinematographer Nic (surname appears truncated in available reporting) is also attached to the project, maintaining another key member of what industry observers are calling Hidalgo's core creative team.
The choice to tackle sexual abuse comes at a moment when such stories are gaining unprecedented visibility in global cinema, though Latin American productions specifically addressing the topic remain relatively rare. Hidalgo's previous work demonstrated her ability to navigate complex emotional terrain—'Of Love and Other Demons' required balancing Marquez's mystical storytelling with profound human suffering, while 'Violeta at Last' explored themes of identity and personal transformation with nuance and power. Those credentials have given the director considerable latitude in pursuing challenging material that many filmmakers might avoid entirely.
