“Utama”, the struggle to survive a way of life in the Bolivian highlands

Malaga (Spain), 22 Mar An elderly Quechua couple herding llamas star in “Utama”, the feature debut by Bolivian Alejandro Loayza Grisi, portraying an endangered way of life in the Bolivian highlands due, among other factors, to climate change, in the face of pressure from the city. “The relationship between countryside and city in Bolivia is very particular. In the 1970s, 70 percent of the population lived in the countryside, and today only 30 percent live. Cities are increasingly alike, with their Starbucks and McDonald's, and they lose their individuality, while the countryside maintains it,” said Loayza Grisi, who is presenting the film in the official section of the Malaga Film Festival in Spain on Tuesday, after winning the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The location of the shoot, in the middle of nowhere, arose from his work on the documentary and from his travels throughout Bolivia, “a very diverse country, very large and with many cultures”. These trips allowed him to “discover realities to which some people in Bolivia are exposed, and that climate change is already affecting people very close, compatriots”. Another challenge was to work with two non-professional actors, José Calcina and Luisa Quispe, to play the lead couple, and the director believes that “without them, the film would not be what it is”. “They weren't actors, but when the shoot ended they were professional actors. The editor told me that this man was a watch, that you could use any shot and it was fine. Its evolution was impressive”, emphasizes the director. He adds that, when working with non-professional actors, “sometimes you leave a lot of room for improvisation”, but in this case they decided to “make it more academic, and they knew exactly what was going on in each scene”. On how to show the landscape, they chose to “portray the harsh climate and not the beauty of the place”, since “it was not a matter of making a cover of 'National Geographic', but a story that was theirs”. After seeing the result of the film, Loayza Grisi is “proud” to see that it “contains the essence of what she wanted to tell” since she was beginning to conceive the story and wrote the first paragraph, “the relationship of an elderly couple who only need each other”. Finally, the story “arises from many conversations, because cinema is essentially a collaborative art, and having shared the script a lot has given it layers of depth”. CHIEF jlp/vg/cg (photo)