Victims of Sin

Screening as part of BFI's UK-wide season Too Much: Melodrama on Film. See any 3 titles in the season for £24 when you book them together – simply log in and add the tickets to your basket, and the discount will be applied at checkout.

This screening will feature an introduction from Invisible Women.

Cuban-Mexican icon Ninón Sevilla dazzles as a gifted nightclub dancer who risks everything to save an abandoned baby in this gripping noir, which brims with smoky atmosphere, tragic coincidences and stunning musical numbers.

In the neon-lit Cabaret Chango, Cuban rumbera Violeta (Sevilla) attracts adoring crowds with her daring dance performances. When she rescues a baby from the garbage one night, she attracts the wrath of brutal gangster Rodolfo (Rodolfo Acosta) and is propelled into a desperate downward spiral. Violeta’s self-sacrifice attracts the potentially redemptive attention of rival club owner Santiago (Tito Junco), but the threat of tragedy is never far away. Gritty noir meets swooning melodrama and breathtaking musical performances in this stunning showcase for Sevilla. The pairing of director Emilio Fernández and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa is widely acclaimed, but the often overlooked contribution of frequent collaborator Gloria Schoemann also deserves credit - as the editor of over 230 films across a 40 year career, Schoemann is one of the defining artists of the Mexican Golden Age.

Supported by the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of the BFI National Lottery.