Lupe

Rafael, a young Cuban immigrant and trained boxer, arrives in New York City determined to find their missing sister Isabel, believed to be trapped in the city's underground sex industry. The search takes Rafael through the gritty, dangerous streets of the metropolis, where violence erupts as frequently as leads appear. When a brutal encounter at a brothel reconnects Rafael with Elsa—a figure from their shared past in rural Cuba—the two begin piecing together their fragmented history while navigating the bitter New York winter together. As Rafael pursues answers about Isabel, they carry a closely guarded secret: a transgender identity expressed only in fleeting moments of solitude, while the rest of their life remains constrained by survival and necessity. Elsa's return becomes a catalyst for confronting truths long suppressed. Through encounters with Lana, a transgender performer who becomes both friend and guide, and an increasingly complicated bond with Arun, a boxing student who awakens unexpected feelings, Rafael faces mounting pressure to reconcile who they truly are with the relentless demands of their mission. The film follows Rafael's journey through overlapping worlds—the search for a lost sister, the struggle for authentic identity, and the collision between love and circumstance—in a story that asks what it costs to survive when simply being yourself feels like a luxury you cannot afford.