by Alex Billington
May 28, 2026
Source: YouTube
“Without new nightmares our realm will die.” Netflix has revealed the first official trailer for a stop-motion animated film titled I Am Frankelda, finally getting a full release on Netflix coming up this summer. The film is Mexico’s first stop-motion feature film, which premiered at the Annecy Film Festival one year ago. Directed by the Ambriz Brothers (Roy & Arturo), this Guillermo del Toro-backed musical dark fantasy is a huge milestone for Latin American animation. It already opened in theaters in Mexico back in October last fall, but is only now getting a streaming debut on Netflix for everyone else. Set in 19th-century Mexico, Francisca Imelda is a young woman whose dark stories are dismissed and ridiculed in a world that refuses to take female writers seriously. She reinvents herself as Frankelda and is transported into a subconscious realm which she conjures from her own imagination and where she must face monsters she’s written about. Will she restore the balance between fiction and reality before both worlds collapse forever? The voice cast features Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suarez. This trailer features an English language dub, as Netflix prefers to release everything dubbed along with the actual language. Enjoy.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Roy & Arturo Ambriz’s animation I Am Frankelda, from YouTube:
“As brothers, we grew up inventing worlds together, drawing, playing, imagining. Over time we understood that fictional characters were not only companions but guides. Sometimes they felt closer than people around us. They provided us courage, wisdom, solace. We believe fiction is not an escape from reality but a way of understanding it. A way of converting truth into palatable chunks. I Am Frankelda comes from a lifelong love of storytelling.
At the heart of the film is the relationship between Frankelda & Herneval: creator and creation, voice and echo. We are drawn to the mystery of ideas. We do not know if we invent them or if they find us. We only know that when they arrive, they ask to be brought into the world. This film is a dream for us. It holds everything we have loved since childhood: monsters, drama, music, color, intensity, culture and worldbuilding. We are moved by characters who feel deeply, who struggle, who transform. Frankelda is about a creator who insists on being heard, even when everything around her says no.” –Directors Roy & Arturo Ambriz
A creation of Cinema Fantasma. In 19th-century Mexico, Frankelda is a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed. Forced to suppress her voice, she refuses to give up, even as many try to silence her. But when she is thrust into her subconscious, the very monsters she created come to life. Guided by Herneval, a tormented prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, she must restore balance between fiction & reality before both realms collapse. Meanwhile, the sinister writer Procustes and his conspirators plot to seize control. As Frankelda and Herneval grow closer, their bond becomes both a strength and a curse. To rewrite their fate entirely, she must confront a love that defies existence and work to reclaim her power as a storyteller—before dark forces consume her imagination & reveal horrors beyond her creation.
I Am Frankelda, also known as Soy Frankelda in Spanish, is written and directed and produced by Mexican filmmaker brothers Arturo Ambriz & Roy Ambriz, directors on the series “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” and “Frankelda’s Book of Spooks” previously. With animation direction from Beto Petiches. And with animation cinematography by Irene Melis & Fernanda G. Manzur. Plus an original score by Kevin Smithers. This initially premiered at the 2025 Annecy Film Festival last year. Netflix debuts Roy & Arturo Ambriz’s I Am Frankelda film streaming on Netflix worldwide starting June 12th, 2026 coming up. Want to watch?
