Film In Focus: Alice In The Land

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Monday, August 25-------In more ways than one, a film festival brings the world to your doorstep. That is certainly the case for a new film from Chile that is making its North American Premiere at the Festival. ALICE IN THE LAND (ALICIA EN EL PAIS), directed by Esteban Larrain, was recently awarded with the Special Prize of the Jury at the Locarno Film Festival, will be presented in  the Documentaries of the World section of the Montreal World Film Festival.

ALICE IN THE LAND tells the improbable and admirable story of a Quechua girl who at the end of 2004 marched 180 kms. from Soniquera, her home village in the south of Bolivia, to go to work at the touristic town of San Pedro de Atacama, in the north of Chile. Constrained by the hard situation of her family, Alice embarks on a trip of unreal characteristics, walking trough magical domains and her own memories, following the invisible path which thousands of others Quechua lead for centuries. The film, based on actual facts and played by the real girl, draws on the rich tradition of Latin American "magic realism", where the rhythm, the silence, the landscapes and the music combine to create the magic interior world of Alice (like the one who travelled to Wonderland)....a journey about crossing through the frontier from childhood to maturity.The film will have its first screening tomorrow with two more repeats later this week. To view the trailer, log on to:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y87h5XoEZNg
For more information on the film, please contact Piranha Films at: www.aliciaenelpais.comSandy Mandelberger, Montreal World FF Dailies Editor