Private Project

Pacurí

15 year-old Paraguayan-American, Pacurí, lives in a claustrophobic apartment on the other side of town--a town of country-club members and golden retrievers. At the cusp of her Quinceañera, she must decide where her loyalties lie: with her devoted family, or her wealthy friends.

  • Gustavo René
    Director
    Huntress
  • Gustavo René
    Writer
    Huntress
  • Miles Warren
    Producer
    Huntress
  • Jacob Snyder
    Producer
    Huntress
  • Gustavo René
    Producer
    Huntress
  • Gaby Medina
    Key Cast
    "Pacurí"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 23 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 16, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Gustavo René

Gustavo René is a recent graduate from Wesleyan University, where he went to play soccer and thought he’d prepare for architecture school, but instead found film. Since then, he’s become obsessed and has collaborated on several projects, including HUNTRESS, a dramatic short which he co-wrote and co-produced and has gone on to win Best Picture at the Pitch to Screen Fest and was an Official Selection at NFFTY. His short film, PACURÍ, which he wrote, directed, and edited marks his directorial debut and is his most personal project yet. Gustavo René remains committed to telling compelling and provocative stories of underrepresented communities with his Paraguayan identity always at the core of his work.

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Director Statement

Pacurí is the first story in history about a Paraguayan-American to be told on film! The goal has always been to represent a community that has never had a voice on the silver screen. After reminiscing about the arduous process of preparing for my sister's Quinceañera, I began to imagine what the pressure must feel like for a girl who's constantly balancing her Paraguayan heritage and her American surroundings. The story built in my head, frame by frame, as I started to recall the memories of my own childhood and that of my sister's, separated by only a few years, but united in the same struggle to fit in with the wealthy, white crowd we could never really be, no matter how hard we tried to assimilate.