Dir. Alejandro Loayza Grisi
Year. 2022
Country: Bolivia
Run-time: 87 mins
Rating: 12A
Language: Quechua, Spanish
English Subtitles?: Yes
Doors: 5.30 pm Film: 6 pm
10% discount on drinks. Just show your ticket at the bar.
In the arid Bolivian highlands, Utama follows an elderly Quechua couple who have been living the same daily routine for years. When an uncommonly long drought threatens their entire way of life, 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. When their grandson arrives with news it brings their predicament into sharp focus as they confront climate change, the value of tradition, and the meaning of life. This visually jaw-dropping debut feature by photographer-turned-filmmaker Alejandro Loayza Grisi is shot by award-winning cinematographer Barbara Alvarez.
“Utama is a perfect portrait of the present moment where a mounting climate disaster, coupled with a stormy economic system, threatens all but the most privileged.”
“A film of dazzling visual power and genuine poignancy.”
“Beautiful beyond measure but never showy, deliberate, and set among elderly people of a tiny community high in the hills of Bolivia, a film like Utama feels impossible.”
“Utama pulls you in with an uneasy mix of beauty and dread.”
