Nosotros, the debut feature by Guatemalan writer-director Joaquín Ruano, will celebrate its World Premiere in the Discovery section of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), running September 10–20. A striking, sensory-rich portrait of desire and belonging, the film follows an Indigenous man who leaves his family in the Guatemalan highlands for work in the capital, where an unexpected relationship begins to transform his understanding of himself.

Ruano comes to directing after building a distinguished career as a producer in Guatemalan and Central American cinema, with credits including 1991 and Roza. His work has established him as a key figure in a new generation of filmmakers from the region. Nosotros, produced by acclaimed producer Pamela Guinea—whose credits include Gasolina and Cannes winner Our Mothers—alongside Ruano, is anchored by raw and deeply human performances from a standout cast led by Jozef Coxaj, Lola Vásquez, and Mayra Salvador.

The story follows Romero (Coxaj), who longs for something beyond the horizon. Leaving behind his wife and son in the Guatemalan highlands, he moves to the capital to work as a private security guard. Thrust into a hyper-masculine world of constant vigilance and low-wage patrols, his rigid routine begins to shift when he meets Nubia (Vásquez), a trans woman who owns a small shop in the mall where he works. 

In her, Romero finds an unexpected, secretive refuge of tenderness, desire, and darkness—one that is quickly put at risk as escalating paranoia among the guards threatens to bring the violence of the outside world crashing into their fragile space.