Project Detail

Little Matador

Synopsis

Little Matador  is a feature length documentary about children bullfighters in Mexico. Kids as young as eight are trained to kill bulls ten times their weight. The film follows three children who are fighting not just the bull but their own demons;

Michelito is ten. The adored child of a matador Dad, Michelito has killed over two hundred bulls. ‘Picasso was born to paint, Mozart to make music – and Michelito to be a matador,’ says Dad. Can Michelito fulfil his father’s dream to become the youngest matador in history?

Joel is nine. Neglected by his mum and step-father, he finds paternal love in the ring. Matador Ismael becomes Joel’s surrogate father and guardian angel. But if Ismael moves to Spain for his own career, what will happen to Joel?

Andrea is twelve. She started bullfighting when her father moved to America. Andrea has disowned her dad – who has found a new woman - and vows to save her mum from poverty by becoming a superstar bullfighter. But will Andrea ever get over her terrible nerves every time she enters the ring?

Little Matador is an extraordinary testimony to the lengths these kids will go to realise their dream.

Details

Year
2010
Type of project
Features
Running time
90 mins
Director
Sandra Jordan, Gabriel Range 1st Feature
Producer
Ed Guiney
Co-Producer
Ed Guiney
Director of Photography
Graham Smith
Sound
Alan M O' Duffy

Production Status

Production Company

Altered Image

14 Newburgh Street
London W1F 7RT
UK

T +44 (0)207 287 5410

www.boroughfilms.com

Element Pictures

21 Mespil Road
Dublin 4
Ireland

T +353 1618 5032

www.elementpictures.ie

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

The protagonist, Mary, covering her ears and screaming into the curtains This Case

Director: Kemi-Bo Miller Jacobs

Year: 2026

Mary, a young mixed-race librarian, becomes convinced that a neighbour’s St George’s Cross is connected to her growing anxiety and disrupted sleep. As her unease intensifies, she struggles to distinguish reality from perception and must find the courage to speak up before she begins to unravel.

Children walking through rubble of city. Gaza Year Zero

Director: Mohammed Sawwaf, Michael Winterbottom

Year: 2027

GAZA YEAR ZERO tells the story of 13 year old Aboud and his family as they struggle to survive in Gaza during the war.

Jack Slack and Rhino Fight Bedlam

Director: Jon Shaikh

Year: 2027

1750, Bedlam The worst place on Earth. Jack Slack, a bare knuckle carnival boxer, consumed with rage, fights his way in to the pits of hell to rescue his sister, Sarah from a lifetime of incarceration. Soon trapped and imprisoned himself, his rage and skill at fighting are noticed and he is singled out by the masters of the hospital for a special course of treatment. Meanwhile, Jack still has a plan, if he can only keep the madness at bay.