The 10th annual Chandler International Film Festival is taking place at Pollack Tempe Cinemas from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1, and will feature over 100 films by international filmmakers.

The festival opened Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. with a red carpet. Throughout the duration of two hours, filmmakers and actors showcased their outfits to guests and the press. When not on the red carpet, guests, filmmakers and actors mingled in Pollack Cinemas main entrance, and the press recorded interviews to get insight on the film. The red carpet was followed by its first screening, the film “Lo Que Dice El Corazón,” directed by Rene Bueno, at 8 p.m.

The film stars Jaime Aymerich as Tomás, a single dad struggling to find a community for his autistic son, Kevin, played by Sergio Valenzuela Carrillo. Lorena E. González plays Marilyn, an escort that Tomás meets as an answer to his loneliness, and Veronica Montes plays Sarah, Kevin’s absent mother who abandoned him when he was young.

Bueno has been in the filmmaking industry since 2004, directing and writing his first film, “7 mujeres, 1 homosexual y Carlos.” In “Lo Que Dice El Corazón,” actors Aymerich and González also worked as producers alongside Bueno.


Tomás is a single dad who has dedicated his entire life to his autistic son, Kevin. With his ex-wife out of the picture, Tomás relentlessly searches an escort service for companionship. He eventually meets Marilyn and invites her over. Only wanting to cure his isolation, they spend the night in conversation. Later that night, Kevin meets Marilyn and tells his father “she has a good soul.”

As the film progresses, Tomás is diagnosed with Leukemia and only has 6 months to live. Tomás realizes no one wants to care for Kevin because he’s autistic and struggles to find him a caring guardian. Tomás goes to his brother, Nicolas, for help; however, Nicolas was vehement on not being able to “properly” care for Kevin as he’s “too much” and needs attention that the brother is not willing to give.

After an epiphany, Tomás realizes Kevin needs a maternal figure in his life, especially since his biological mother has been absent since birth. The distressed father pursues Marilyn to take on that motherly role. As he takes Marilyn in, he also begins to develop a sense of protectiveness over Marilyn and wants to provide a better life for her.

The movie deals with a parent's nightmare: leaving this earth with no one to adequately take care of their child. Many parents of autistic kids fear dying before their children and leaving them in a world that is not accommodating to them.

Aymerich and Montes were in attendance at the festival and watched the film with the audience before partaking in a Q&A after the showing.

During the Q&A, Aymerich said it was José Bastón who changed his mind about the selection of Kevin’s actor and whether the actor should be neurodivergent. Aymerich said Bastón told him that “you have to have an autistic actor; you have to be authentic” at a dinner in New York City.

After discussing that enlightenment with the other producers, they decided to hire a child actor with autism for authenticity. In several castings before, Aymerich had worked with a child actor he thought was perfect for the role, but who was not autistic. However, when acting out an intense scene where Kevin has a breakdown, Aymerich said Carrillo reacted differently from the other child actor. Aymerich said Carrillo was able to handle the scene and continue, while the other child actor was not, which secured Carrillo the role.

When Aymerich was shocked by Carrillo’s ability to continue on, Carrillo responded by telling him, “Jaime, I’m an actor.”

Over the course of filming, Aymerich developed a strong bond with Carrillo, which later turned into a close relationship, in which Carrillo confessed that since he was fatherless, he wished Aymerich were his real dad. Aymerich told Carrillo that he could not be his father, but he could be his friend, which led them to spend the holidays together.

“I learned a lot about him, more than anything,” expressed Aymerich. Aymerich said that he and Carrillo hold a strong relationship to this day, while bringing awareness to the struggles a single parent goes through while having an autistic child.

Towards the end of the Q&A segment, a teacher of a neurodivergent class and two mothers of autistic children shared their stories and expressed their appreciation for the film, as well as commenting on how Marilyn's character resonated with them.

One mother even said, “I really appreciate [people] for being accepting and just so empathetic to him, because all it takes is someone just to see him.”

For them, Marilyn's empathy and care for Kevin were heartwarming to watch, especially as the film highlighted how easily people dismiss children with autism as “too difficult to handle,” rather than giving them grace.

“Lo Que Dice El Corazón” leaves audiences with the message that children with autism should be given the opportunity to dream like any other child.