Wednesday January 8th 2014
Spain/Mexico 2010  103 minutes
Director: Iciar Bollain
Starring: Luis Tosar, Gael Garcia Bernal, Juan Carlos Aduviri

A struggling film company is in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba to make a film about Christopher Columbus. The idealistic director (Sebastian) wants to counter the positive image of Columbus by showing the ruthless rush for gold and cheap slaves which followed the arrival of the Conquistadores. The actor (Daniel) chosen to play the part of Hatuey, the first Indian leader to oppose the Spanish (and who was literally crucified) turns out to be a local activist in the struggle to oppose the privatisation and sale of the city’s water supply. Completion of the film has to take place amid the subsequent violence and rioting in the city (the ‘Water War’ was a real event in April 2000).