Utama (2022)
Director: Alejandro Loayza Grisi Run Time: 87 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2022
Starring: José Calcina, Luisa Quispe, Santos Choque
Country: Bolivia, Uruguay, France
Language: Quechua, Spanish
About the film:
Grand Jury Prize winner, 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
In the arid Bolivian highlands, an elderly Quechua couple has been living a tranquil life for years. When an uncommonly long drought threatens everything they know, Virginio and Sisa must decide whether to stay and maintain their traditional way of life or admit defeat and move in with family members in the city. Their dilemma is precipitated by the arrival of their grandson Clever. The three of them must face, each in their own way, the effects of a changing environment, the importance of tradition, and the meaning of life itself.
About the filmmaker:
Alejandro Loayza Grisi is a Bolivian filmmaker who began his artistic career in still photography, appearing in exhibitions and numerous publications. He moved to motion film as a director of photography. Attracted by storytelling, he ventured into screenwriting and direction in preparation of his first feature film. His visually jaw-dropping debut feature Utama (2022) won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
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