Private Project

The Andean Screen

A Northwestern Argentinian teacher leads a mobile cinema crew to the most isolated school in the Jujuy high-altitude valleys, undergoing a 20-hour journey on foot in adverse conditions. Their arrival involves us in the high-altitude educational values, portraying the isolation in the Andean worlds and how communities engage with the earth. “The Andean Screen” is a poetic analogy between cinema and travel; a choral history spun by Silvina Velázquez, principal of the school, whose tenacity introduces a new paradigm for the women of the valleys.

  • Carmina Balaguer
    Director
  • Carmina Balaguer
    Writer
  • Carmina Balaguer (Mónt.ON)
    Producer
  • Julián Luis Morales
    Composer
  • Patricio Artero
    Cinematographer
  • Júlia R. Aymar
    Editor
  • Estudios Hem
    Sound mixing
  • Gaspar Quique Silva
    Color Correction
  • Natalia Conti
    Motion graphics
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    La pantalla andina
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    48 minutes 28 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 1, 2021
  • Country of Origin:
    Spain
  • Country of Filming:
    Argentina
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Full HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 14th BBK Mendi Film Bilbao-Bizkaia
    Bilbao
    Spain
    December 9, 2021
    National and World Premiere
    Best Culture and Nature Film
  • 70th Trento Film Festival
    Trento
    Italy
    May 4, 2022
    International Premiere
  • 24th Cine Las Americas International Film
    Austin
    June 12, 2022
    Best Documentary Short Jury Award
  • 13th Festival Internacional de Cinema de Cerdanya
    Puigcerdà
    Spain
    August 3, 2022
    Best Mountain Film
  • 8th Festival Internacional de Cine de las Alturas
    San Salvador de Jujuy
    Argentina
    September 5, 2022
    Opening Film
  • 7th Festival de Cine Etnográfico de Ecuador
    Quito
    Ecuador
    September 23, 2022
  • 14th San Francisco Latino Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    October 18, 2022
  • 18th Festival Internacional de Cine de los Derechos Humanos
    Sucre
    Bolivia, Plurinational State of
    August 30, 2022
    Bolivian
    Mención Honrosa
  • Terra Gollut Film Festival
    Ripoll
    Spain
    September 23, 2022
    Opening Film
  • 31st International Festival of Ethnological Film
    Belgrade
    Serbia
    October 5, 2022
    Serbian
  • 18th Inkafest Mountain Film Festival
    Arequipa
    Peru
    November 18, 2022
    Best Mountain Culture Film
  • XIV Festival del Cinema dei Diritti Umani di Napoli
    Naples
    Italy
    November 22, 2022
  • 29th SUNCINE Festival Internacional de Cine del Medio Ambiente
    Barcelona
    Spain
    November 1, 2022
  • 13th Ethnofest Athens Ethnographic Film Festival
    Athens
    Greece
    November 24, 2022
  • Televisió de Catalunya - Canal 33

    Spain
    December 15, 2022
  • 39th Festival international du film de montagne d'Autrans
    Autrans
    France
    December 3, 2022
  • 18th MÓC GOR Mountain Spirit Festival
    Zakopane
    Poland
    Best Sociocultural Film
  • 6th International Women Filmmakers Festival

    Turkey
    March 8, 2023
    Camera Eye Short Documentary Category Jury’s Special Award
  • Finalist Women's Solution Award 2023 - One World Media
  • Festival de Cine Inusual de Buenos AIres

    Argentina
    October 20, 2023
    Best Documentary Film
  • XI Festival de Cinema Indígena de Barcelona

    Spain
    October 3, 2023
    Pre-opening Film
Distribution Information
  • Feelsales
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Carmina Balaguer

Carmina Balaguer grows up in a restless family based in the Mediterranean and in the Pyrenees and she travels the world since early childhood. From very early on, she approaches the world observing how territories and their landscapes impact the customs of those who inhabit them.

Her approach to the audiovisual language arises in her homeland, Barcelona, Spain, working for eight years as a street casting director and assistant as well as being part of filming production teams. Some productions of this period stand out: “Sueño y Silencio” by Jaime Rosales, produced by Fresdeval Films; “The Impossible”, by Juan Antonio Bayona, produced by Apaches Entertainment; and “EVA”, by Kike Maíllo, produced by Escándalo Films.

In 2013 she settles in Argentina for six years, where she works as a travel writer for Viajes National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler Latin America. There she also covers the Latin American television industry writing for the North American outlet The Daily Brief, Promax Global. During her sixth year in the country, she bases in the Jujuy province –bordering Bolivia and Chile– in order to research the indigenous Kolla communities. There, she gets to know the work of the Mobile Cinema crew and the educational values of high-altitude contexts.

‘The Andean Screen’ is her first documentary as a director / producer.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I’m telling this story to vindicate our right to dream. I am convinced that dreaming brings us closer to our emotions which enables us to act and to develop as a society. Having dreams and the desire of making them come true brings commitment and responsibility.

Both cinema and working –when undertaken as a purpose– are open doors towards the accomplishment of our dreams. Thus, the teacher Silvina Velázquez and the Mobile Cinema crew composed by Asunción Rodríguez and Enrique Hernández, embody these values, being a source of inspiration these days. The three, aligned with their life purpose, carry dreams to others and take care of their own dreams.

Besides, the three of them are the ones who introduce us into the Andean tradition, whose culture I am committed to communicate. I am convinced that, now more than ever, it is the rural and ancestral knowledge that will help us move forward.

"The Andean Screen" arises after the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has brought empathy towards stories of isolation and isolated worlds.