Emilia Pérez

Emilia Pérez ( Latin American Spanish: [eˈmilja ˈpeɾes]) is a 2024 Spanish-language French musical crime film written and directed by Jacques Audiard. It is based on Audiard's opera libretto of the same name, which he loosely adapted from a chapter of the 2018 novel Écoute by French writer Boris Razon. The film follows a Mexican cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) who aims to disappear and transition into a woman with the help of a lawyer (Zoe Saldaña). Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, and Édgar Ramírez also appear in starring roles.

Emilia Pérez had its world premiere on 18 May 2024 at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress award for its female ensemble. It was theatrically released by Pathé in France on 21 August 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics in the United States and Europe, who praised the direction, music, performances and themes, but received low audience scores on aggregators such as Rotten Tomatoes. In Mexico, the film was panned by both audiences and critics, who criticized its cultural misrepresentation, songwriting, use of stereotypes, and Spanish dialogue. Some LGBTQ commentators were also critical of its depiction of transgender people.