The Punishment (Spanish: La piel más temida, lit. 'The most feared skin') is a 2023 Peruvian-Colombian drama film directed, written and produced by Joel Calero.^[1] It stars Juana Burga^[2] accompanied by Amiel Cayo, Lucho Cáceres, María Luque and Katerina D'Onofrio.^[3][4] It is the second film in the director's Calero tetralogy of memory, following One Last Afternoon (2016).^[5]

Alejandra, a 27-year-old adult, arrives in Cusco, Peru, a place that seems essentially foreign to her, because she and her mother left the country 22 years ago. Her only purpose for returning is to sell, together with her uncle Américo, the colonial house of her maternal family. However, she will find a new purpose to reconnect with her land when she discovers that her father, who abandoned her when she was 3 years old, is still alive and imprisoned for participating in the terrorist organization Shining Path.^[6]

• Juana Burga as Alejandra
• Amiel Cayo as Victor
• Lucho Cáceres as Américo
• María Luque as Dominga
• Katerina D'Onofrio

Principal photography was scheduled to begin in May 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.^[7] Filming lasted a month and a half in Andahuaylillas, Maras, Anta, Tocto and Cusco, Peru.^[8][9]

The Punishment had its world premiere on August 13, 2023, in Galas section at the 27th Lima Film Festival.^[10] Its commercial premiere is scheduled for April 25, 2024, in Peruvian theaters.^[11]