The Greatest House in the World (La casa más grande del mundo)
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2015
Ana V. Bojórquez, Lucía Carreras / Feature Narrative / Guatemala, Mexico / 2015 / 74 min / Colour / DCP2K / In Mam, Spanish / Arabic, English subtitles / MENA Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance is advised. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.
Synopsis
Every morning, young Rocío and her pregnant mother take their sheep to graze in the mountains of rural Guatemala. When her mother unexpectedly goes into labour, it’s up to Rocío to tend to the flock on her own, though she is not really old enough for the responsibility. Excited, she leaves her grandmother and mother behind to spend a day wandering the remote highlands. She meets up with her friend Ixchumilá, another young shepherdess, and they while the time away building imaginary houses and bickering with Ajpú, a mischievous local boy.
When the pair come to a rope bridge that spans the river and disappears into a dense mist, Ixchumilá dares Rocío to cross, but she is unnerved by the shaky structure and fearful of the fog. Quite suddenly, the littlest of the sheep has gone missing. Her friend has to leave, so Rocío is left alone to search for the missing lamb and drive the rest of the flock home.
As the sun starts to go down and Rocío’s quest becomes more urgent, it quietly becomes clear that the greatest house in the world is nature itself in this pensive film about independence, overcoming fears and the never-ending circle of life.
About the Director
Ana V. Bojórquez studied film at the International School of Film and Television in Cuba, where she majored in Cinematography. ‘The Greatest House in the World’ is her debut feature film. She is currently producing Lucía Carreras’s feature ‘Tamara y La Catarina’.
Lucía Carreras’ directorial debut, ‘Nos vemos, papá’ (2012), had its premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2012. In 2014, Carreras co-directed ‘The Greatest House in the World’ with Ana V. Bojórquez, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Credits
- Director
- Ana V. Bojórquez, Lucía Carreras
- Screenwriter
- Edgar Sajcabun, Ana V. Bojórquez
- Producer
- Ana V. Bojórquez, Sandra Paredes
- Editor
- León Felipe González
- Music
- Pascual Reyes
- Cinematographer
- Álvaro Rodríguez S.
- Sales Company
- Premium Films
- Production Company
- Prisma Cine, Filmadora Producciones, Underdog
- Cast
- Gloria López, María López, Elder Escobedo, Fabiana Ortiz, Daniel Ramírez, Myriam Bravo