Ashes or A Mouthful of Ash (Spanish: Ceniza en la boca) is a 2026 drama film directed by Diego Luna, co-written with Abia Castillo and Diego Rabasa, and based on the same name novel by Brenda Navarro. A Mexican-Spanish co-production, its cast is led by Anna Díaz and Adriana Paz.
The film had its world premiere at the Special Screening section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 13 May 2026.
Contents
Plot
21-year-old Lucila moves to Spain with her brother Diego to reunite with her mother Isabel, who settled there eight years prior.
Cast
Anna Díaz as Lucila
Adriana Paz as Isabel
Teresa Lozano as Laura
Irene Escolar
Production
Based on the novel Ceniza en la boca (2022) by Brenda Navarro, the screenplay was written by Diego Luna, Abia Castillo, and Diego Rabasa. The film is a Mexican and Spanish co-production by La Corriente del Golfo, Animal de Luz, Inicia Films, Perro Azul, and EFD Studios. Shooting locations in Madrid included the Mercado Maravillas. Shooting in Spain wrapped after five weeks of filming, moving to Mexico. Damián García worked as cinematographer.
Release
Luxbox acquired world sales rights to the film ahead of its world premiere, which took place at the 'Special Screenings' section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Netflix acquired rights to select Spanish speaking territories prior to the start of the festival. It was screened at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, in the Open Air section in August 2026. Watermelon Pictures acquired theatrical distribution rights for North America.
The film is scheduled to be released theatrically in Spain on 9 October 2026 by Avalon.
Reception
Tim Grierson of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be "a compassionate, clear-eyed study of a young woman searching for a place to call home".
Pete Hammond of Deadline assessed that considered Ashes as a "powerful and moving motion picture", with "strong guidance from Diego Luna".
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter lamented the "inert" film to be "pared back to the point of narrative starvation".
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 13 reviews, with an average score of rated reviews of 7.00/10.