France/Argentina/Netherlands/Paraguay/Austria/Spain/Germany 2006, Guarini with English subtitles, 35mm, 78 min
Director: Paz Encina
Screenplay : Paz Encina
Cinematography : Willi Behnisch
Cast: Georgina Genes, Ramon del Rio
Print Source: New Crowned Hope
This debut from Paz Encina is the first feature film to come out of Paraguay in nearly three decades. Sublimely minimalist , this is a striking meditation on time and memory, loss and love, as an elderly couple sits in the jungle and waits for an impending rainstorm. This is a film about waiting. Waiting for rain. Waiting for a son for who has gone off to war. Waiting for the heat to dissipate. Waiting for the future to change. But everything stays the same.
Encina's reductionist approach is driven home in a 15 minute opening sequence in which an old man and woman emerge from the forest in long shot. Their non-stop bickering eventually reveals that the country is at war and they have not heard from their soldier son in a very long time. With a stylistic boldness that counterpoints the film's patient approach, Encina uses the relationship between the man and the woman to explore a national metaphor.
The central message of the film is perfectly conveyed with fantastic acting, a resonant soundtrack and carefully controlled direction from Encina.
The Cape Winelands will again at the 2012 edition of this festival present a series of Masterclasses and workshops. These events are sponsored by the City of Cape Town and Wesgro.
Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes festival, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s new film has the magic of a fairy tale and the simplicity of a folk tale. Wonderfully immersive, slow and dreamy, 
