Rimana Wasi: Home of stories

A radio host in the city of Puno, Peru, Chaska helps bring popular Quechua stories into the homes, stores, and fields of thousands of highland-dwelling families. But she is also a mom to three restless children and a dutiful daughter of rural alpaca herders. Finding a comfortable balance between her personal dreams and her dedication to her family, in constant travel from the city to the countryside, is not easy. Rimana Wasi follows Chaska in her quest to pursue her passion for Quechua storytelling on the radio while also caring for her family.

  • Ximena Málaga Sabogal
    Director
  • Piotr Turlej
    Director
  • Ximena Málaga Sabogal
    Producer
  • Nely Huayta Cutipa
    Producer
  • Nely Huayta Cutipa
    Key Cast
  • Santusa Cutipa
    Key Cast
  • Ludwig Torres Huayta
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Rimana Wasi: Hogar de Historias
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Social Issues, Environment, Indigenous, Family
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Country of Origin:
    Peru
  • Country of Filming:
    Peru
  • Language:
    Quechua, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78 : 1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Locarno Film Festival
    LOCARNO
    Switzerland
    August 4, 2023
    Swiss Premiere
    Open Doors Shorts Award: Environment is Quality of Life
  • Primeiro Plano, Festival de Cinema de Juiz de Fora
    Rio de Janeiro
    Brazil
    November 22, 2022
    Brazil Premiere
    Melhor Primeiro Plano
  • Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Radio City
    Valencia
    Spain
    May 1, 2023
    Spanish Premiere
    Special Mention
  • Cinélatino Recontres de Toulouse
    Toulouse
    France
    March 26, 2023
    French Premiere
    Official Selection
  • BOGOCINE Festival de Cine de Bogotá
    Bogota
    Colombia
    October 23, 2022
    Columbian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Ischia Film Festival
    Ischia
    Italy
    June 30, 2022
    European Premiere
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • LATIN QUARTER Distribution
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
  • Juan G. Castro
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Ximena Málaga Sabogal, Piotr Turlej

Ximena and Piotr directed three short documentaries together: Sen Hasiora (Poland, 2023, 29', in post-production), Rimana Wasi: Home of Stories (Peru, 2022, 20'), and Los Andes High School and the Shining Path (Peru, 2013, 19')

XIMENA MALAGA SABOGAL

After a decade of exploring her native Peru as an anthropologist and historian, Ximena went on to switch gears towards visual storytelling at NYU’s Culture and Media program. Marked by early experiences of migration and an intercultural upbringing, she wants to highlight the stories of Andean women through collaborative documentary filmmaking.

PIOTR TURLEJ

After finishing film school in Katowice and spending a decade working in the Polish film industry, Piotr moved to Peru, where he focused on finding his visual voice. Today he lives between Puno (Peru), Warsaw (Poland), and NYC, crafting film projects that are both socially conscious and creatively challenging. In 2021 he graduated from Wajda School (Poland).

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This short doc is the result of years of going back and forth to Puno (Peru) and building long-lasting relationships with its protagonists. Ximena was living in Puno and doing research about Quechua radio when she met Chaska, a young radio host at a crossroads between her family and her job. Piotr soon joined the project and together they followed Chaska in her travels between the city and the countryside. For its production, this project won the Peruvian Ministry of Culture’s National Bicentennial Short Film Grant and went on to screen at film festivals in Latin America and Europe. Rimana Wasi is an intimate look into Chaska’s daily life but it is also an homage to radio in Quechua, a medium and a language that is still very much alive in the Peruvian Andes. Over 10 million people in South America speak Quechua and Radio Onda Azul, the radio station portrayed in this short, has 250 thousand listeners daily.