Juan Carlos Valdivia
A filmmaker tracing the steps of Swedish explorer Erland Nordeskiold travels with a Guarani Indian from the highlands of La Paz to the swamps in the forests of South Eastern Bolivia, a place where uncontacted indigenous still exist. Philosophical Road Movie into the heart of Guarani culture of Bolivia translates ancient knowledge and explores the importance of the other in the construction of our identity.
In La Paz -as opposed to many other cities- the rich live below, which is the Southern District. Life goes on without major mishaps in a large house surrounded by a beautiful garden. It is a wonderful world, a great bubble of comfort, where different personal spheres coexist: the mother, along with her three children and the Aymara inhabitants of the house. The drama surfaces slowly, without narrative ploys, observing day-to-day activities until internal and external forces make the bubble burst. The film relates the story of the final days of an upper-class family, at a time when the country is undergoing social changes.
After being denied an American visa, a Bolivian professor becomes involved in a web of criminal activities, holds-up the American consulate and falls for a beautiful prostitute from the Bolivian lowlands.
Bolivia's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1995
