{ "id": "epg4k846hv", "slug": "la-otra-familia", "title": "La Otra Familia", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014", "label": "Drama films 2010 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014.psychological-and-social-drama-films", "label": "Psychological and social drama films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014.psychological-and-social-drama-films" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Latin America and the Caribbean · 2001 to 2020: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.latam", "label": "Latin America and the Caribbean", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam" }, { "id": "geo.latam.t2001", "label": "Latin America and the Caribbean · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.latam.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.latam.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "La Otra Familia (The Other Family), 2011 Mexican drama by Gustavo Loza: a gay couple, Jean Paul and Chema, care for seven-year-old Hendrix, abandoned by his crack-addicted mother; released 25 March 2011 by 20th Century Fox, first national LGBT-themed commercial production.", "snippet": "La Otra Familia (The Other Family), 2011 Mexican drama by Gustavo Loza: a gay couple, Jean Paul and Chema, care for seven-year-old Hendrix, abandoned by his crack-addicted mother; released 25 March 2011 by 20th Century Fox, first national LGBT-themed commercial production.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2010-to-2014.psychological-and-social-drama-films", "markdown": "# La Otra Familia\n\n**La Otra Familia** (The Other Family) is a 2011 Mexican drama film directed and written by Gustavo Loza about a gay couple in Mexico City who take in Hendrix, a seven-year-old boy abandoned by his crack-addicted mother, and then seek to adopt him while the mother, her drug-dealer lover, and the child-welfare authorities each contest the boy's future.[1](https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=produccion_cine&table_id=4393) It was distributed by 20th Century Fox and released in Mexico on 25 March 2011 on 350 copies, and it has been described as the first commercial national production with LGBT themes.[2](https://www.latamcinema.com/film-mexicano-reflexiona-sobre-la-familia-con-padres-del-mismo-sexo/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Gustavo Loza (Mexico, 1970), his fourth feature film[1](https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=produccion_cine&table_id=4393) • [3](https://ri.uaemex.mx/bitstream/handle/20.500.11799/30494/TESIS%20LA%20OTRA%20FAMILA_2.2111.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) |\n| Release | 25 March 2011 in Mexico, 350 copies, distributed by 20th Century Fox[2](https://www.latamcinema.com/film-mexicano-reflexiona-sobre-la-familia-con-padres-del-mismo-sexo/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt1695136/) |\n| Main cast | Jorge Salinas (Jean Paul), Luis Roberto Guzmán (Chema), Nailea Norvind (Nina), Ana Serradilla (Ivana), Bruno Loza (Hendrix)[4](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt1695136/) |\n| Box office in Mexico | 37,959 thousand pesos from 815,000 attendees on 373 screens in 2011[5](https://anuario.imcine.gob.mx/Assets/anuarios/2011.pdf) |\n| Worldwide gross | USD 3,297,256; running time 127 minutes[4](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt1695136/) |\n| Public funding | Produced with the EFICINE fiscal incentive under Article 226 of the Federal Income Tax Law[1](https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=produccion_cine&table_id=4393) |\n| Awards | Three Canacine awards in 2012, including Best Song for \"Lléname de amor\" by Benny Ibarra[3](https://ri.uaemex.mx/bitstream/handle/20.500.11799/30494/TESIS%20LA%20OTRA%20FAMILA_2.2111.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) |\n| Mexican classification | B-15, admitting viewers aged 15 and over[6](https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/103215.html) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe film opens with the wedding of [Jean Paul](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-paul) ([Jorge Salinas](https://www.edgepedia.org/jorge-salinas)) and Chema (Luis Roberto Guzmán), a couple who have been together for ten years and lead comfortable professional lives in Mexico City.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-other-family) • [8](https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/101020.html) Elsewhere in the city, Hendrix (Bruno Loza) is left alone for three days by his mother Nina (Nailea Norvind), who is addicted to crack cocaine. Her friend Ivana (Ana Serradilla) rescues the boy and places him with the couple, who gradually grow attached to him and want to adopt him legally.[9](https://encuentra.com/la_otra_familia_resena_cine17327/)\n\nNina is placed in a rehabilitation center, but her lover and dealer Patrick (Andrés Almeida), threatened over a growing debt to his suppliers, decides to sell Hendrix to a couple who have just lost their baby.[9](https://encuentra.com/la_otra_familia_resena_cine17327/) • [10](https://www.adorocinema.com/filmes/filme-212268/) Nina escapes the clinic to recover her son, while the authorities, to protect him, try to place him in an orphanage.[10](https://www.adorocinema.com/filmes/filme-212268/) The couple's care of the boy also draws the watchful attention of Doña Chuy ([Carmen Salinas](https://www.edgepedia.org/carmen-salinas)) and Gabino (Silverio Palacios).[11](https://repositorioinstitucionaluacm.mx/jspui/bitstream/123456789/692/3/KAREN%20A.%20HERN%C3%81NDEZ%20GONZ%C3%81LEZ-CyC.pdf) The film's stated subject is what makes a suitable home for a child, arguing that love and care matter more than a parent's sexual orientation.[2](https://www.latamcinema.com/film-mexicano-reflexiona-sobre-la-familia-con-padres-del-mismo-sexo/)\n\n### Interpretation and legacy\n\nAcademic commentary has read the film as a statement on new family configurations and on the rights of LGBTTTI subjects, showing that same-sex couples have the same capacities to form families.[11](https://repositorioinstitucionaluacm.mx/jspui/bitstream/123456789/692/3/KAREN%20A.%20HERN%C3%81NDEZ%20GONZ%C3%81LEZ-CyC.pdf) A study in the *Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies* took a more critical view, arguing that the film excludes non-traditional kinships and cannot be considered queer in the critical sense of the term.[22](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08263663.2017.1281943) A Redalyc-published article placed the film within a continuum of Mexican cinema responding to legal advances and the supposed social acceptance of LGBT people, noting that its couple is not representative of most of the gay Mexican population even though its images do not exclude marked difference from heteronormativity.[16](https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/1995/199531506005.pdf)\n\nThe film has remained available on streaming services only sporadically: as of recent checks it was not streamable in Mexico or the United States, but was available in Germany on the OUTtv Amazon Channel.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-other-family)\n\n## Production\n\n**Origins.** Loza conceived the story in the screenwriting workshop of the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival), founded by [Robert Redford](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-redford), and carried the idea for about four years before filming; he spent three of those years seeking backing because the subject matter raised fears among potential funders.[12](https://www.gaceta.udg.mx/Una-familia-diferente/) • [3](https://ri.uaemex.mx/bitstream/handle/20.500.11799/30494/TESIS%20LA%20OTRA%20FAMILA_2.2111.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) He said he could not obtain support from the Fidecine or Foprocine funds, and the film was instead made with the EFICINE fiscal incentive of Article 226 of the Federal Income Tax Law.[13](https://www.elseptimoarte.net/mexico/noticias/estreno-mexicano/cine-articulo-1245.html) • [1](https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=produccion_cine&table_id=4393)\n\n**Crew and shooting.** The film was shot between October and November 2009, with cinematography by Carlos Marcovich and editing by Camilo Abadía.[14](https://www.informador.mx/amp/Entretenimiento/Ana-Serradilla-expone-realidad-social-20101219-0207.html) • [1](https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=produccion_cine&table_id=4393) It was produced by Matthias Ehrenberg and Ricardo Kleinbaum for Río Negro Producciones, with Barracuda Films also credited as a production company.[1](https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=produccion_cine&table_id=4393) • [15](https://catarina.udlap.mx/u_dl_a/tales/documentos/lte/barrientos_l_gd/apendiceA.pdf) The child actor Bruno Loza, who plays Hendrix, is the director's son.[8](https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/101020.html)\n\n**Timing with the law.** The day after filming ended, the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District approved the law allowing same-sex marriage and adoption in Mexico City, which gave the film a topical weight at its release.[12](https://www.gaceta.udg.mx/Una-familia-diferente/) Mexico City had in 2009 become the first place in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage and homoparental adoption.[16](https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/1995/199531506005.pdf)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film premiered at the Morelia International Film Festival in October 2010, where screenings drew full houses, before its commercial Mexican release on 25 March 2011.[8](https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/101020.html) • [17](https://correcamara.com/ficcm-la-otra-familia-cine-de-entretenimiento-social/) Fox International Productions acquired Latin American rights in June 2010, with rollout planned for the first half of 2011.[18](https://www.screendaily.com/production/fip-acquires-latin-american-rights-to-la-otra-familia/5015024.article)\n\n**Controversy.** Before the premiere, Loza received threats and attacks on his moral integrity on Facebook because of the film's subject, and the release generated debate on social networks about adoption by gay couples.[6](https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/103215.html) • [19](https://horacero.com.mx/minuto-a-minuto/la-otra-familia-causa-polemica) Critics divided along similar lines: the Cine PREMIERE review, which rated the film 3.5 of 5, praised Nailea Norvind's performance and the absence of caricature in the gay roles, while a Catholic-site review objected that the film presents homosexual couples as an ideal and heterosexual couples as troubled.[20](https://cinepremiere.com.mx/review-cine-la-otra-familia.html) • [9](https://encuentra.com/la_otra_familia_resena_cine17327/) On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.3.[4](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt1695136/)\n\n**Box office.** In 2011 the film sold about 815,000 tickets and earned 37,959 thousand pesos on 373 screens, placing it among the ten highest-grossing Mexican films of the year.[5](https://anuario.imcine.gob.mx/Assets/anuarios/2011.pdf) • [3](https://ri.uaemex.mx/bitstream/handle/20.500.11799/30494/TESIS%20LA%20OTRA%20FAMILA_2.2111.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) IMDb records a worldwide gross of USD 3,297,256.[4](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt1695136/)\n\n**Awards.** At the eighth Canacine awards of the National Chamber of the Cinematographic Industry in 2012, the film won three statuettes, including Best Song for \"Lléname de amor\" by Benny Ibarra.[3](https://ri.uaemex.mx/bitstream/handle/20.500.11799/30494/TESIS%20LA%20OTRA%20FAMILA_2.2111.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) The producer's site also lists it as winner of Best Picture at the Chicago Latino Film Festival.[21](https://rionegro.com.mx/detalle-pelicula/la-otra-familia)\n\n## References\n\n1. [La otra familia / The Other Family, Sistema de Información Cultural, Secretaría de Cultura](https://sic.cultura.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=produccion_cine&table_id=4393)\n2. [Film mexicano reflexiona sobre la familia con padres del mismo sexo, LatAm cinema](https://www.latamcinema.com/film-mexicano-reflexiona-sobre-la-familia-con-padres-del-mismo-sexo/)\n3. [Tesis UAEMex: La otra familia, con recortes de prensa (Premios Canacine 2012, Proceso, El Universal)](https://ri.uaemex.mx/bitstream/handle/20.500.11799/30494/TESIS%20LA%20OTRA%20FAMILA_2.2111.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)\n4. [La otra familia (2011), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt1695136/)\n5. [Anuario IMCINE 2011: Películas mexicanas exhibidas](https://anuario.imcine.gob.mx/Assets/anuarios/2011.pdf)\n6. [\"La otra familia\" es atacada en Facebook, El Universal](https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/103215.html)\n7. [The Other Family streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-other-family)\n8. [La otra familia aborda el tema de nuevas estructuras en la sociedad, El Universal](https://archivo.eluniversal.com.mx/espectaculos/101020.html)\n9. [La Otra Familia (Reseña cine), Encuentra](https://encuentra.com/la_otra_familia_resena_cine17327/)\n10. [A Outra Família, AdoroCinema](https://www.adorocinema.com/filmes/filme-212268/)\n11. [Karen A. Hernández González, análisis de La otra familia, Repositorio UACM](https://repositorioinstitucionaluacm.mx/jspui/bitstream/123456789/692/3/KAREN%20A.%20HERN%C3%81NDEZ%20GONZ%C3%81LEZ-CyC.pdf)\n12. [Una familia diferente, Gaceta UDG](https://www.gaceta.udg.mx/Una-familia-diferente/)\n13. [Estreno mexicano: La otra familia, El Séptimo Arte](https://www.elseptimoarte.net/mexico/noticias/estreno-mexicano/cine-articulo-1245.html)\n14. [Ana Serradilla expone realidad social, El Informador](https://www.informador.mx/amp/Entretenimiento/Ana-Serradilla-expone-realidad-social-20101219-0207.html)\n15. [Apéndice A, tesis UDLA (ficha de La otra familia)](https://catarina.udlap.mx/u_dl_a/tales/documentos/lte/barrientos_l_gd/apendiceA.pdf)\n16. [La otra familia de Gustavo Loza: imágenes gay, de la periferia a la normalización, Redalyc](https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/1995/199531506005.pdf)\n17. [FICCM: La otra familia, cine de entretenimiento social, Corre Cámara](https://correcamara.com/ficcm-la-otra-familia-cine-de-entretenimiento-social/)\n18. [FIP acquires Latin American rights to La Otra Familia, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/production/fip-acquires-latin-american-rights-to-la-otra-familia/5015024.article)\n19. [\"La otra familia\" causa polémica, Hora Cero / El Universal](https://horacero.com.mx/minuto-a-minuto/la-otra-familia-causa-polemica)\n20. [La otra familia, reseña, Cine PREMIERE](https://cinepremiere.com.mx/review-cine-la-otra-familia.html)\n21. [La otra familia, Río Negro Producciones](https://rionegro.com.mx/detalle-pelicula/la-otra-familia)\n22. [Homonormativización de las masculinidades gay: La otra familia (2011) de Gustavo Loza, Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08263663.2017.1281943)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2010 to 2014 › Psychological and social drama films*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/la-otra-familia", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/la-otra-familia.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"La Otra Familia\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/la-otra-familia. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[La Otra Familia](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-otra-familia)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/la-otra-familia](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-otra-familia). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"La Otra Familia\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/la-otra-familia. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "La Otra Familia, 2011 Mexican drama by Gustavo Loza: a gay couple, Jean Paul and Chema, care for seven-year-old Hendrix, abandoned by his crack-addicted mother; released 25 March 2011 by 20th Century Fox, first national LGBT-themed commercial production." }