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Logline

A Mexican Neil Diamond impersonator living in Los Angeles is forced to return to his hometown after years away to say goodbye to his dying mother. This journey will reunite him with his past to reveal his true identity.

Synopsis

Nil left his hometown 20 years ago to make it as a musician, but ended up scraping by as a Neil Diamond impersonator in Los Angeles. He lives out of his car, works as an Uber driver, and performs in second-rate competitions. Just as he lands an audition for The Look, the world’s leading impersonator competition, he receives devastating news: his mother, whom he hasn’t seen for decades, is dying of cancer in Mexico.

He decides to sell his car to say goodbye, promising to return in time to compete. Upon arriving in La Mata, his hometown, he is greeted like a hero by everyone. But his reunions with his mother Silvana, a professional mourner (a woman hired to weep at other people’s funerals), his brother Demetrio, still hurting from his abandonment, and Antonia, an old love, confront him with everything he ran away from.
While reliving a life he thought was buried, Nil begins to wonder if it’s worth continuing to be someone else on stage, when he no longer knows who he really is.

After his mother’s death, Nil returns to Los Angeles and takes the stage at The Look. But he doesn’t sing like Neil Diamond. He sings like Tomás—his real name, his real voice. He doesn’t win the competition, but he receives something more valuable: a first and perhaps last standing ovation, not for being a copy of someone else, but for finally daring to be himself.

Meet the Filmmakers

Mario Lucero Beauregard — Director, Writer & Producer
Mario Lucero Beauregard is a Mexican filmmaker, writer, and producer whose work centers on character-driven storytelling with strong emotional and psychological depth.

His films explore themes of identity, fractured family dynamics, ambition, and personal reconciliation, often following protagonists confronting unresolved pasts while navigating the tension between dreams and reality.

He directed the feature film Los pacientes recurrentes, a road movie starring Hernán Mendoza, Edgar Vivar, and Sophie Alexander Katz, as well as Mi abuelo, La Muerte and the series El Poder de los Girasoles.

Mario has worked between Mexico and Los Angeles, developing projects for both national and international audiences. His creative vision blends intimate drama with cinematic scope, grounded in personal experience and cultural specificity.

He is currently developing NIL, a Mexico–U.S. co-production about a Mexican Neil Diamond impersonator living in Los Angeles who returns to his hometown to confront his past and reclaim his identity.

Marisol Márquez — Producer
Marisol Márquez is a Mexican film and television producer known for her work in independent cinema and cultural productions. She has produced Los pacientes recurrentes (2022) and Mi abuelo, La Muerte, as well as short films including La crónica (2008) and Picnic (2015). Márquez also produced the Ariel Awards television specials (Ariel 61 and Ariel 62), contributing to the celebration of Mexican cinema. Her work bridges narrative filmmaking and cultural television production, supporting meaningful storytelling within Mexico’s audiovisual landscape.

Sandra Paredes — Producer
Sandra Paredes is a Mexican film producer and line producer with over two decades of experience in national and international productions.
She produced Párpados azules (2007), an Ariel Award-winning debut feature, and has contributed to numerous independent and commercial projects.Paredes has also worked extensively as a line producer, coordinating international shoots and large-scale productions in Mexico. Her career reflects a deep understanding of both the creative and operational dimensions of filmmaking.

Jesús Pimentel Melo — Filmmaker & Executive Director
Jesús Pimentel Melo is a Mexican filmmaker, producer, and educator, and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cine Qua Non Lab. Born in Morelia, Mexico, he earned an MFA in Film from Columbia University as a Fulbright-García Robles scholar. His short film Miramelinda received a Student Academy Award nomination, and he has participated in major international film festivals. Through Cine Qua Non Lab, Pimentel has supported emerging filmmakers worldwide, fostering the development of independent narrative cinema.

Lemore Syvan — Producer
Lemore Syvan is an American film producer, production manager, and writer with over two decades of experience in independent and international cinema.

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Contact

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