La Picada

This beautifully integrated, multi-threaded narrative seamlessly interweaves six stories set in radically different locations across Central America, ranging from the tropical forests of Guatemala to the skyscrapers of Panama City. When a solar storm leaves the region without power, myriad dramas unfold over the course of five days during which all conveniences of modernity are stripped away. In Costa Rica, a pastor and his daughter worry for the future of their church, while in El Salvador, a grandmother and grandson make an arduous journey into the city. A husband and wife reconnect in Honduras, as a young couple nurses a mysterious stranger back to health in Guatemala. Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, a young woman prepares for her quinceañera and in Panama, a housekeeper grows exasperated with her demanding employer.

Teo, an intrepid child, lives with his father Luis in Lima, an electrician devoted to the creation of a strange machine. Lured by a feeling of independence, Teo joins a gang of young criminals, bringing turmoil to the relationship with his father.

Eva a 16-year-old girl lives with her mother, her younger sister and their cat, but wants to move in with her estranged father. Clinging onto him, she tries to balance between the tenderness and sensitivity of teenage life.

Selva, thirteen years old, discovers that when we die we just shed our skin. We can turn into wolves, goats, shadows, or anything as long as your imagination allows it.

Domingo’s house in the Costa Rican mountains is about to be expropriated for the construction of a highway. But his land hides a secret: the ghost of his deceased wife visits him within the mist. Domingo is sure he will never give up his land, even if that means resorting to violence.

As a soccer star back in the day, Eugenio used to be known as “The Gazelle” for his speed and dexterity in the field. He retired young, unable to score a trophy. Now 72 and living in a retirement home, Eugenio is determined to win a dance contest with the help of his partner Carmen and his openly gay instructor Daniel.

Hernandez had already made films in Guatemala and Mexico and this time found inspiring locations, unusual atmosphere and enthusiastic young people in Costa Rica. In this consciously unpolished film, the rebellious girls Sole and Ana open the trunk of a car in grandma’s garden and find something they’d rather immediately forget.

Juana is a 30 year old woman that, up til now, hasn’t allowed herself to be happy. An unexpected encounter with Gustavo, her ex-boyfriend, revives her most impenetrable emotions. From that moment, Juana feels forced to challenge her sadness, accept what happened, and face what is yet to come.

In a dystopian world marked by inequality and everyday violence, a grandmother is determined to make the most of the time she has left with her granddaughter. But as a series of events pushes them into increasing danger, love and fear begin to blur, forcing her to cross lines she never imagined.

More than 70 years ago Giorgio Motta's grandfather and uncle arrived in Costa Rica from Italy. With their hands they built the building that houses one of the most emblematic bars in San José. Nowadays, La Bohemia welcomes different generations in that same place, who are attracted by the nostalgia of the music, the conversation and the "bocas", but especially by the charm that its bartender, owner and cook, Giorgio, brings to this canteen, that shines within a traditional San José that seems to be soon to disappear.

The situation at the Wholesale Market is complicated. Leiner’s boss doesn’t show up, and there’s no one to open the banana stand for the long night of work he had planned ahead. With little else to do, Leiner gets a message from his friend Magneto: he needs help moving the merchandise they ended up with that night.

When Ana investigates the attack in which her father died forty years ago, the mysterious recognition of a possible witness takes her on a journey to the place where the events occurred. In that border place, Ana sees in that enigmatic man something more than a witness.