Aina Clotet Directs and Stars in Viva

Aina Clotet arrives at Cannes Critics’ Week with Viva, a feature debut that throws its lead character into a raw fight against numbness.

Clotet, already known as an actress and screenwriter, directs and stars in the film as Nora, a 40-year-old woman who confronts death and then plunges into passionate relationships with two very different men. The setup suggests a story driven less by romance alone than by urgency: Nora wants to feel alive, and every choice appears to flow from that need.

After coming face-to-face with death, Nora dives into intense relationships that seem to test what it means to feel fully alive.

The project also places Clotet in a demanding double role behind and in front of the camera, a move that often signals a deeply personal creative stake. Reports indicate the film uses Nora’s emotional upheaval to explore desire, mortality and the instability that follows a life-altering shock. That premise gives Viva a sharp edge: it treats midlife not as retreat, but as collision.

The Cannes Critics’ Week launch matters because the section has long served as a proving ground for emerging voices and bold first features. For Clotet, the selection puts immediate attention on both her filmmaking instincts and her performance. In a crowded festival field, Viva stands out with a character study built around appetite, fear and the consequences of chasing feeling at full speed.

What comes next will shape how far Viva travels beyond the Croisette. Festival response could determine its path with buyers, programmers and wider audiences, but the early signal already feels clear: Clotet wants to tell stories about adulthood with mess, heat and real stakes, and Viva puts that ambition front and center.