FORGOTTEN ROADS

After her husband dies unexpectedly, meek 70-year-old Claudina (Rosa Ramírez) makes the journey to her daughter and grandson’s house in Lautaro, Chile. While she certainly doesn’t expect much from rooming in a house somewhat hostile to her presence, a budding romance with Elsa (Romana Satt), the married next-door neighbor who moonlights as a gay lounge singer, is one of the unexpected surprises that line her new path. As she remembers her past loves and forges new clandestine friendships with the young conspirators in her life, Claudina finds, at last, a new purpose. Director Nicol Ruiz brings her hometown to life in this delicate, young-at-heart romance, depicting Lauturo through its colorful corner stores, gossiping wives, and bordering-on-religious obsession with the UFOs that only come out by night. Ruiz’s tender eye, and Ramírez’s moving performance, make this delightfully and earnestly unconventional narrative an unmissable cinematic oddity that’s sure to charm.

Cast: Rosa Ramírez, Romana Satt, Gabriela Arancibia, Claudia Devia, Raúl López Leyton, Cristóbal Ruiz.

Writer: Nicol Ruiz Benavides

Part of The 32nd Annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival

Presented in partnership with Latin Reel and Cinema Tropical

Nicol Ruiz Benavides