Film: Sun and Daughter (Cuidando al sol)

This film is part of the 2024 Latin American/Latinx Film Festival. All films in this series are free and open to the public.

Spanish, Aymara, with English subtitles

With María Belén Callisaya, Karina Paco, Luis Aduviri

Why you must see this film: Because it is a feel-good debut film by Bolivian director Catalina Razzini, an incredible new talent to watch. It is a sensitive and beautifully crafted depiction in the purest John Ford style of the spectacular landscape of the Island of the Sun, captured through the lens of Spanish cinematographer Santiago Racaj ‘Summer 1993’. And because it has five stars on IMDb!

Ten-year-old Lucía’s family lives in the Island of the Sun (Isla del Sol) in the middle of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia — a place that’s as mystical as it is picturesque. When her father breaks from their routine one morning and leaves for the city to make money, Lucía finds it difficult to cope with his absence, building her daily life around the expectations of their reunion.

After school, Lucía and her younger sister Maribel weave Totora reeds into figurines that her mother sells to numerous tourists. But the rhythm of life on the island and the passage of time help her realize her father is no longer the person she longed to have back. She must find her own path. Lucía is thinking of going to the city herself, but she has no money. It’s time she took her destiny into her own hands.

With a subtle commentary on environmental tourism and the exploitation of “the other” that goes two-way, Catalina Razzini’s touching rural tale masterly captures the landscape of Isla del Sol.