In what is most likely the best looking film of the Film Festival, a young indigenous Bolivian girl embarks on a rollercoaster journey to take her mother out of a life of hardship and into eternal paradise.
Santa (Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda) embarks on a mission across barren landscapes to fulfil a promise to her mother. Along the way she encounters a shady priest, a group of wild female wrestlers and, initially, her nemesis: a gruff policeman (Fernando Arze Echalar) who arrests Santa before coming to suspect that she has miraculous powers. There is a magical realism to this film that will leave you gasping with wonder and joy, along with the odd jolt of sharp reality. Filmed across the high-altitude Altiplano and Yungas regions of Bolivia, near the capital of La Paz, we are treated to the most stunning cinematography of any film in this year’s Festival… and we are lucky to have the UK-based director Alberto Sciamma and cinematographer Alex Metcalfe with us for a Q&A where we can ask them about their craft. (Subtitles)
UK/Bolivia 2025 Alberto Sciamma 107m
Plus Q&A with the director Alberto Sciamma and cinematographer Alex Metcalfe.
