‘Kinra’, the Cusco film in Quechua, which won the top award at the last Festival in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and swept away six awards at the 28th Lima Film Festival, confirms its national premiere for November 14 in commercial movie theaters.
The film revolves around the story of Atoqcha (little fox in Quechua), a determined young man, who travels from Chumbivilcas, where he lives with his mother in a house with his apus, to Cusco; Despite the difficult situation of starting from scratch, he gets the support of a friend who takes him in as his family. Thus, his life begins to settle in the city; He finds a job and begins studying to become an engineer. Now Atoqcha has a divided heart; He doesn’t want to leave his mother, his sister, or his homeland. Without rushing and without letting yourself be pressured, you will take your time to define your future and affirm your identity.
The film spoken in Quechua and starring natural actors from the areasurprises with its warm, authentic and close narrative. It brings us closer to the Andean universe from the life experience of a young man who moves from his home in Chumbivilcas, to the city of Cusco, on a journey that confronts him with his search and strengthens his identity.
Daily life in Andean communities, The collective spirit, solidarity, life with the land and nature are portrayed in the film with honesty, This was highlighted by Peruvian critics. The Quechua-speaking actors, without previous acting experience, have achieved a performance that contributes to giving strength and authenticity to the film.
“Since the agrarian reform, Quechuas, Aymaras, and Amazonians have assimilated culturally to the point of questioning our identity with the excuse of modernity, thus growing up in an environment that contradicts our way of life, our roots, our languages, our skin colors. Affected by racism and classism, some live outside certain spaces, others manage to conquer them in their own way, In both ways, Peru is a fractured country with a visible conflict between what is Western and what is Andean.. “Kinra portrays Atoqcha’s journey to feel calm about his decisions, which are also mine because I am a second generation displaced person, happily I still speak Quechua,” quoted the film’s director, Marco Panatonic.
FACT:
– Marco Panatonic, Quechua speaker, was born in Kinra, Chumbivilcas (Cusco). He studied Communication Sciences (Unsaac). He has participated in the management of film clubs and was a production assistant for short films and music videos. He has made the short films Q’ellucha (2017) and When we are no longer here (2016). He learned cinema in spaces like TransLAB, Corriente, Talents Buenos Aires, EdocLAB, EICTV, Escuela Transfrontera. He participated in the short films La Final (César Venero, 2014) and Heroínas (Marina Herrera, 2022). It was part of the co-production Fiebre (2022), by Elisa Eliash. Kinra is his first feature film.
