Utama
Description
Elderly Quechua couple Virginio and Sisa live quiet, mundane lives in the Bolivian highlands tending to their herd of llamas. But the passage of time and an unusually long drought brought on by environmental change threaten their pastoral existence. When their grandson Clever comes to visit and help them with the animals, he also tries to persuade them to join him in the city where family can care for them. Bolivian director Alejandro Loayza Grisi employs luminous cinematography in this winner of the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema – Dramatic Grand Jury Prize winner, as he examines the intricate relationship between land and humanity in a drama that provides subtle commentary on the impact of climate crisis and the loss of indigenous traditions.
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Biographies
La Paz, Bolivia, native Alejandro Loayza Grisi studied communication at the Catholic University of Bolivia and advertising in Cordoba, Argentina. He has worked in various capacities in film, including as a cinematographer and producer. He makes his writing-directing debut with Utama (2022), winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
