Spanish boutique outfit Bendita Film Sales has acquired worldwide sales rights to Costa Rican director Neto Villalobos' "Love Is the Monster" ahead of its world premiere in the Centrepiece programme at the Toronto International Film Festival. The dystopian thriller marks the first collaboration between Villalobos and Berlinale Silver Bear winner Paulina García, both of whom have previously premiered films at TIFF, and continues Bendita's push to bring Latin American genre cinema to international buyers.

Shot in Golfito on Costa Rica's Southern Pacific coast, the film follows a terminally ill grandmother, played by García, who seeks out her seven-year-old granddaughter, and turns to desperate measures when the child is kidnapped. It is a multi-country co-production involving companies from Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Chile and Mexico, and previously took part in development platforms including the San Sebastián Co-Production Forum, the Costa Rica Media Market and Rotterdam's Darkroom WIP, among others. It is Villalobos' third feature, following "All About the Feathers" and "Helmet Heads," which also premiered at TIFF.