Discoveries from Peru World Cinema

Based on a rape court case.

A film by Lenin Salinas.

A story of young people trying to change the world in their own way, regardless of the consequences. Meanwhile, the authorities show no interest in the safety of civil society.

A terminally ill patient comes to realize that life invites us to enjoy it at every moment and with responsibility.

This documentary, filmed between 2001 and 2005, tells the story of four Peruvian visual artists: Claudio Jiménez Quispe, a retablo maker from Ayacucho; Alfredo Márquez, an art activist; Eduardo Tokeshi, a renowned Nikkei artist; and Natalia Iguiñiz, an artist and photographer. It showcases their work and their struggle to remain active and creative amidst a repressive social and governmental regime.

Salvador Velarde is like William Turner, a painter of light, and like Turner, he paints his being in the landscape. He speaks to us with winds, tides, greens, oranges, and blues. This is a portrait of the master.

MOTHER SEA is the title of our documentary because life originates in the sea, and ours is the most fertile in the world. However, despite its richness and global importance, the Peruvian sea is threatened by various factors.

A visual poem from the perspective of birds showing how humanity's hand is accelerating the extinction rates of entire species; however, they behave as if we have forgotten that nature is the source and support of all life, including our own.

Returning to the Light is a documentary that tells the stories of some Jews who survived the Nazi Holocaust between 1939 and 1945 and found a new life in Peru. They came to the Americas to rebuild their lives, seeking more favorable circumstances, and found freedom in Peru: an open, multicultural society, a country of diverse backgrounds where everyone can be who they are and practice their religion without fear of persecution. A country where these wounded immigrants were able to make their home.

A story of gangs and political corruption.

A film by Lenin Salinas

A film by Lenin Salinas.

A couple stumbles upon a unique devotional image in Cusco and together embark on the task of telling its story. Little by little, they become immersed in the daily life of the cult and develop a relationship with the faithful and the image, which gradually reveals new facets to them.

The Virgin of Copacabana is the main Marian devotion in Bolivia.

The documentary aims to connect viewers with a relatable reality, showing people who seek happiness despite obstacles. It tells the stories of ordinary people who reveal their paths to living in a society like our own.

Having lost their parents, a group of siblings (3 boys and 1 girl) live in poverty in the city of Juliaca and must do their utmost to get ahead without anyone's help.

The filmmaker pours his life experience in the world of gangs and urban violence into this raw fiction film, with documentary touches.

A very sick mother, with a drunk son, who becomes good after she dies, but it is too late to fix things.

A girl is possessed by an evil spirit, and two villagers kill her and burn her remains. Her older brother returns from the city to find his mother ill and his other brother missing. He then travels to the jungle to consult a healer.

Genesis, Yanko's top assassin, deserts his organization after discovering her sister's affair with her partner, killing them both. She escapes before being killed. Toni, Yanko's brother, will hunt her down to either bring her back or kill her, but Genesis will seek revenge for the deaths of her loved ones. This is where the feud between them ignites.

The film tells the story of two friends caught up in the Cenepa War (a conflict between Peru and Ecuador in 1995) and their struggle for survival, where loyalty, friendship, patriotism, and other values ​​are put to the test.

And you, fathers, do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

"Road to Truth" reflects a real-life story where a child is kidnapped and separated from his family. The older brother and the mother of this little boy search tirelessly for him. Destiny will put them through trials and tribulations, even bringing them to the brink of death, so that this union can take place.

A group of medical students decide to go to a cemetery to obtain a cadaver for research purposes. But something very strange begins to happen after the body mysteriously disappears from one of the students' homes.

A father does everything possible to ensure his children and wife lack nothing, but they do not value his efforts and demand money from him without consideration.

1st Prize at the Juliaca Film Festival in the fiction category.

Wild City directed by: Luis Berrocal and Wilfredo Gómez (producer who, out of pettiness and self-promotion, and without having paid me a single cent for my work on said production, denies my participation in the direction, script and photography of said film and meanwhile has been confined to the Yanamilla prison),

A film by Junior Larico.

This is a small mosaic of stories set in the city of Ayacucho. The city is presented to us as the chaotic dance of an unfinished fusion of the urban-modern and the Andean-poor, constituting the backdrop that shelters stories of anxious and developing individuals.

The love affairs of young peasants Chullpicha and Anacha intertwine with a controversial story set in a military barracks. A drama of love, hate, jealousy, and violence that reveals the deeply rooted customs of the Andean world in the heart of Peru.

After their father's death, three siblings will try to keep their family together against all odds, even the reading of his will. However, each will try to keep his most prized possession.

Seven biology students venture deep into the Amazon rainforest to collect samples and take notes for a final assignment before graduating. Their chosen location is Supayacu (Devil's Lake), where mysterious disappearances have been reported. Along the way, a series of events transforms their pleasure trip into a nightmare, during which they vanish one by one, unaware that they may have unwittingly encountered—much less accepted—amidst the lush vegetation, a mythological and fateful creature with uneven feet.

Experimental short film.

Silvestre Condori returns home drunk after spending all his money in town with his friends. His wife, Antuca, and their young daughter, Mañuca, confront him about how he spent the money. He ignores them and continues drinking with his brother. When the beer runs out, he demands that his wife open more bottles. They argue, and he hits her so hard she loses consciousness. He then starts a fire that kills his wife and daughter.

Mario, a tricycle driver who came to the city of winds, full of dreams and hopes for a better future.

Nine-year-old Jovita moves with her parents and grandmother to a house filled with mysteries, enchantments, and spirits. Despite having some information about events that occurred sixty years earlier, the grandmother refuses to tell the family about the terrifying and supernatural nature of the house, so as not to cause panic and anxiety.

It is a debut film and deals with the problems caused by a gang of young and seasoned criminals.

Instead of studying for an exam, students at a school prepare their "plagiarisms" to deceive the teacher.

A group of young university students from Huancayo live with their backs turned to the indigenous cultural roots of their town. Only one of them and the professor of National Reality instill in them a love for their own culture.

Based on the poem by Luciano Morales.

It tells the story of a hermaphrodite student who, after entering obstetrics school with a male name, gradually adopts a female appearance. This triggers a conflict when it comes time to receive their university degree, highlighting themes of gender identity and the difficulties faced by people in similar situations.

Based on the short story by Abner Viera.

Short film.

Based on the poem by Julia Pineda.

Based on the poem by Julia Pineda.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely impacted the entire cultural landscape of Peru, hindering the production of feature films due to their complex and expensive financing, Héctor Marreros Vásquez set out to make several short films, with few actors and simple scripts, but which aim to foster interest in reading new Peruvian poets.

Inspired by a poem by Ramina Herrera.

After the long wait of every Christmas, Vilma and Cesar will spend Christmas alone...a very sweet story.

Based on the poem by Juan José Borja.

This film tells the parallel stories of two people: Father Rebaza, whose charity and vocation of service bring good to all the parishioners he meets, and one of his friends, lost in the vices of alcohol and loose women. It is based on the real life of Father Luis Rebaza.

The story of José María from his birth to his youth. Orphaned as a child, he worked in the streets and had to endure an abusive stepfather. As a young man, he experiences love and strives to achieve his full potential.

According to popular belief, the Virgin of Sorrows, patron saint of Cajamarca, was carved in three days by two angels who arrived one day at the San Francisco convent claiming to be sculptors.

Natividad is offered to the Lord of Miracles and the saint of the Cajamarca people, Udilberto Vásquez. As time passed, he grew up amidst violence and drugs; an accident in the Army transformed his life.

It is based on the last months of the life of Manuel Castillo, a famous Peruvian storyteller, who sadly passed away a few months ago.

The story follows a lonely, widowed elderly man whose solitude is broken by the adoption of a dog he finds in an almost magical situation. This animal becomes a great source of companionship and comfort to the protagonist, Mr. Simón, amidst the social devastation wrought by the pandemic on many Peruvian families and homes.

An unemployed young man gets a job as a night watchman, with the only responsibility of activating an alarm and not opening the doors of the place he is guarding. However, night after night, he discovers that the prostitutes working outside are always in danger.

It tells the story of Santos, a silversmith who travels constantly, often leaving his wife, Rosa, alone. Rumors reach his ears that she has a lover, and one night, after a trip, he returns unexpectedly to find his wife with her lover, Helme.

In the ritual heart of Cusco, Peru, a group of child bearers carries the faith of a people on their shoulders. The documentary portrays the symbolic weight of a childhood that embodies the heritage of a festival in the Andes.

Between 1987 and 1991, the peasant communities of the company valley suffered from the crossfire between the armed forces and subversive groups, until the self-defense committees formed by the ronderos emerged.

December 1987. Alfonso owns a grocery store in Huamanga. His nephews Cirilo and Pepito help him in the business. The city of Ayacucho is under a political-military command and a curfew is in effect from seven at night until six in the morning. One day, Alfonso is forced by a Shining Path militant to deliver a package of dynamite to a man waiting for him in the plaza. Alfonso tries to resist, but is threatened with death. He makes the delivery; however, he is observed by a member of the Army Intelligence Service. That night, Alfonso is arrested at his home by the armed forces.