Natalia Hermida, known professionally as Gala del Sol, is a Spanish-Colombian filmmaker. She was nominated for the Student Academy Awards for her Chapman University short film Transient Passengers, in 2018. She is the writer-director of the feature film Rains Over Babel, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025 and was selected as the Colombian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.
Career Del Sol graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in Los Angeles, California. In 2025, she premiered her genre-blending debut feature film Rains Over Babel (Llueve sobre Babel), a reimagining of Dante's Inferno through a queer, tropical-punk lens. The film is set in the mythical City of Maya, a retrofuturistic version of Cali, Colombia, and follows a group of misfits who converge at Babel, a dive bar doubling as purgatory, where they gamble years of their lives with La Flaca, the city’s personified Grim Reaper. The film had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and its International Premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Manuel Betancourt, a film critic for Variety, covered the film’s premiere, writing, “With her Sundance debut, writer-director Gala del Sol announces herself as a fabulous off-kilter voice in contemporary cinema" and describing the film as a "maximalist triumph." The film had its Colombian premiere April 16th, 2026, and managed to run for 9 weeks in the commercial chain Cinecolombia, becoming the most watched Colombian film of 2026.
In June 2025, The Hollywood Reporter included Rains Over Babel as one of the "top 10 Hispanic Films of 2025".
The film won the Panorama España Grand Jury Award at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival in April 2025. It went on to win the Jury Award for Best First Feature at the Inside Out Film and Video Festival in Canada, May 2025.Jamie Casemore, "Really Happy Someday wins Inside Out 2025’s Best Canadian Feature". Playback, June 3, 2025. On June 29, 2025, it won Best International Feature at the Pride Awards held at the Lincoln Center in New York City. The award was handed by TV personality and queer icon, Dominique Jackson.
In July 2025, Del Sol was named by Variety as one of the "10 Colombian filmmakers to watch".
Rains Over Babel was selected by the Colombian Academy of Motion Pictures as their 2027 entry for the Goya Awards and as the Colombian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.
Del Sol signed for management with M88, a Los Angeles-based talent representation firm, in February 2025.
Filmography YearTitle Contribution Note 2016 Sekhem Director, writer, editor and producer Short film 2017 Gamberger Director, writer and editor Short film 2018 The Sandman Director and writer Short film 2018 Transient Passengers Director, writer and editor Short film 2025 Rains Over Babel Director, writer, editor and producer Feature film
Awards and nominations YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.2018 NominatedStudent Academy AwardsAlternativeTransient Passengers2019 NominatedBrooklyn Film FestivalBest Experimental Film2025 NominatedSundance Film FestivalNEXT Innovator AwardRains Over Babel2025 NominatedPremio SebastianeSebastiane Latino Award2025 NominatedGuadalajara Film FestivalMaguey Award2025 NominatedMiami Film FestivalJordan Ressler First Feature Award2025 NominatedSan Francisco International Film FestivalGolden Gate Award2025 NominatedMalaga Film FestivalZonazine, Palmarés2025 NominatedBrussels International Fantastic Film FestivalWhite Raven Critic's Award2025Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film FestivalPanorama España Award2025Inside Out Film and Video FestivalBest First Feature 2025Pride AwardsBest International Feature2025 Out Film Connecticut LGBTQ Film FestivalBest Feature Film
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