World premiere
Seed of the Desert
Rusty menacing cars, a dangerous desert and a prize... Furiosa? No, babe, welcome to Colombia.
In a deserted land, Chelina and Caviche face a difficult decision when in fear of a violent father they decide to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. To fund the abortion, they become gasoline smugglers and embark on a challenging journey.
The film raised crowdfunding before receiving any institutional support and tells the story of a couple who must grow up faster than usual in an aggressive environment. It underlines the tendency of the current Latin American cinema to present contemporary stories, flirting with genres and exposing still prevailing social realities in a fantasy framework, without remaining stuck in classic urban drama.
Introducing a handful of iconic and charismatic characters, the film makes us face the loss of innocence in a harsh dystopian, but relatable world because, more often than not, childhood is a scarce capacity, while fast-paced survival is paramount.
An appealing cocktail between a coming-of-age and a rusty and ramshackle steampunk tale, “Seed of the Desert” emerges as a hardy road movie along the Guajira Peninsula. Will love overcome all these difficulties?
Javier Puerto Garcia
Sebastian Parra R (1992) is a Colombian director and screenwriter. His career so far is characterised by his collaboration with renowned Greek-Colombian director Spiros Stathoulopoulos. In 2015, he participated in Stathoulopoulos’s masterclass project “Anthropos” as one of 50 directors. who presented their life story through photographs. In 2016, Parra was a second assistant director on two films – Stathoulopoulos’s “Killing Klaus Kinski” and “Amazonas”, a film made by six directors. With “Seed of the Desert”, he introduces it as follows: „It is my intention to evoke memories of childhood friends who were prematurely thrust into adulthood, facing challenging realities that stood in contrast to the innocence and fragility of my own fortunate childhood.”
Anthropos (2015, co-dir), Semilla del desierto (Seed of the Desert, 2024)
Grand Prix for The Best Film, grant of 20 000 euros from the city of Tallinn, Award for Best Director, grant of 5000€ from Alexela
