Utama
The lives of Virginio and his wife Sisa, an older Quechua couple, have not become any easier since no rain has fallen for a very long time in the place where they have been living for years: the Highlands of Bolivia. The local river is also starting to dry up, while water is essential for their existence as llama herders. In fact, they have no choice but to move to the nearby capital, La Paz, something their visiting grandson Clever is also trying to convince them of. They don't want to leave, however; their life here may be Spartan, but it is also the life they love.
Anyone who hears about climate change will not immediately think of its consequences for life in the Andean highlands. In this sublime, self-written debut, Bolivian director Alejandro Loayza Grisi shows that the consequences are far-reaching here too. He presents his film in a meditative pace, with breathtakingly beautiful images.
Q&As with director Alejandro Loayza
Tue. 23 Aug | 17:45 | Rialto VU
Wed. 24 Aug 20:15 Rialto VU
Thu. 25 Aug 19:00 Rialto De Pijp
Fri. 26 Aug 17:45 | Rialto VU
Fri. 26 Aug 21:00 | De Balie
ALEJANDRO LOAYZA (1985, Bolivia) began his career in still photography and entered the world of filmmaking through cinematography on films including Planeta Bolivia, Polvo, Dochera and Aicha. Attracted by storytelling through images, he ventured into writing and directing for his first feature film, Utama, which won a Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Dramatic.
