The French international sales company Luxbox has added El tren fluvial (The River Train) to its catalogue, a coming-of-age film directed by Argentine filmmakers Lorenzo Ferro and Lucas A. Vignale, which will have its world premiere in the Perspectives section of the Berlin International Film Festival.

The film follows the story of a nine-year-old boy who grows up in an isolated riverside village and, driven by boundless curiosity and big aspirations, embarks on a train journey to Buenos Aires. Along the way, the young protagonist confronts solitude and independence, while navigating the delicate balance between the traditions of his environment and the pull of the unknown embodied by the big city.

The River Train is produced by Tomás Grandio, Valentine Torre and Casiana Vera for the Argentine production company Cinco Rayos, and is co-produced by Primo, with additional support from patron and art collector Amalia Amoedo.

The cast is led by Milo Barría, alongside Lucrecia Pazos, Mailén Barría, Mariano Barría, Rita Pauls, and writer and musician Fabián Casas.

Luxbox CEO Fiorella Moretti highlighted the film’s sensitive nature: “It is a poetic and moving film that invites us to see the world through a child’s eyes, discovering Buenos Aires, friendships, and the adventures that emerge along the way.”

The producers at Cinco Rayos, for their part, emphasized the challenges faced by the project. Grandio, Torre and Vera noted that filming took place “probably at the worst possible moment to shoot a film in Argentina,” forcing the team to work with minimal resources and a markedly artisanal methodology. “Being able to premiere the film in Berlin and to do so alongside an international distributor like Luxbox is a source of pride, not only for us but also for Argentine independent cinema,” they said.

The producers also underscored the spirit driving the project: “Our mission is to encourage other young Argentine filmmakers to go out and make films. If this movie leaves anything with its audience, we hope it is precisely that: the desire to pick up a camera and start shooting.”