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Utama

Bolivia / Uruguay / France 2022
Dir: Alejandro Loayza Grisi
Quechua / Spanish / 87 min
BBFC rating: 12A

In cinemas from 25 November 2022
Available at home from 23 January 2023

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In the arid Bolivian highlands, Utama follows an elderly Quechua couple who have been living the same daily routine for years. When an uncommonly long drought threatens their entire way of life, Virginio and Sisa must decide whether to stay and maintain their traditional way of life or admit defeat and move in with family members in the city. When their grandson arrives with news it brings their predicament into sharp focus as they confront climate change, the value of tradition, and the meaning of life.

This visually jaw-dropping debut feature by photographer-turned-filmmaker Alejandro Loayza Grisi is shot by award-winning cinematographer Barbara Alvarez.

A row of laurels: Sundance Grand Jury Prize, London Film Festival official selection and Goya Award nominee
  • Chesham Chiltern Film Society - 5 June 2024

  • Aberystwyth Aberystwyth Arts Centre - from 2 December

    Aberystwyth WOW Film Festival - from 24 March

    Aille West, Co. Galway Club Scannán Sailearna - 9 February 2023

    Ayr The Robert Burns Centre - from 6 December

    Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal Abbey Arts Centre - 8 March 2023

    Belfast Belfast Film Festival - 3 November

    Borderlines Film Festival various venues - from 7 March

    Bracknell South Hill Park - from 23 January

    Bradford Pictureville - from 25 November

    Bristol Watershed - from 16 December

    Buxton Buxton Film (Pavilion Arts Centre) - 12 December 2023

    Cardigan Mwldan Cinema - 26 February

    Carlow VISUAL - 12 February

    Chichester Chichester Cinema at New Park - 27-28 December

    Cromarty Cromarty Cinema - 10 December

    Dublin Pavilion Theatre - 17 April

    Dundee DCA - from 9 December

    Edinburgh Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival - 7 Oct 2023

    Falmouth Phoenix Cinema - 4-6 June

    Glasgow GFT - from 25 November

    Hebden Bridge Film Festival - 24 March

    Hebden Bridge Hebden Bridge Picture House - 19 May

    Holmfirth Holmfirth Film Festival - 26 October

    Horsham Horsham Film Society - 13 November 2023

    Inverness Inverness Film Festival - 6 November

    Inverness Eden Court Cinema - from 9 December

    Ipswich King Street Cinema - from 25 November

    Kendal The Brewery Arts Centre - from 7 December

    Keswick Alhambra - 12 February

    Leicester Phoenix - from 3 January

    Lerwick, Shetland Mareel - from 15 January

    London BFI London Film Festival - 8 and 10 October

    London Highgate Film Society - 14 March 2024

    London ICA - from 25 November

    London Richmond Film Society (at Elgiva Theatre) - 12 March 2024

    London The Garden Cinema - from 25 November

    London The Lexi Cinema - from 3 December

    London Waterman’s Arts Centre - from 25 November

    Manchester HOME - from 16 December

    Newbridge, Co. Kildare Riverbank Arts Centre - 13 March

    Nottingham Broadway Cinema - from 9 December

    Oswestry KinoKulture - 23 August 2023

    Penzance Savoy - 4-6 June

    Sligo The Model Cinema - 2 February

    St Andrews Green Film Festival (Byre Theatre) - 11 February

    Strode Strode Theatre - 22 January

    Tewkesbury Roses Theatre - from 22 December

    Tunbridge Wells Trinity Theatre - 1 February

UTAMA quad cinema poster - featuring large yellow text which reads UTAMA on a dry Bolivian altiplano landscape. One of the main characters from the film, Virginio, sits on a rock in the foreground wearing a hat to protect him from the sun.

“Breathtaking”, “sublime, quietly elegiac”

Variety

“A strikingly beautiful work”

Screen International

“Extraordinary”, “it’s a feast”

Deadline

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