Alba
(Alba)
Ana Cristina Barragán | Drama, Fiction
2016 | 94 minutes | Ecuador, Mexico, Greece
A coming-of-age film that is both heart-rending and unsentimental, the film follows Alba as family and social circumstances force her to pave her way into adolescence.
Synopsis
Alba is eleven years old. One afternoon, her mother is admitted in the hospital and she has to move to live with Igor, a father she barely knows. Igor’s attempts to get closer to Alba, school girls, her first kiss...all are stimulus that pave her way into adolescence and to accept her family.
Alba is a coming-of-age film that is both heart-rending and unsentimental. It’s striking that such a mature and powerful debut comes from Ecuador, the country that until the beginning of this century had only made one film a year. Young leading actress Macarena Arias is one to keep an eye on. She manages to use a minimum of dialogue to devastating effect.
Reviews
"Alba makes Ecuadorian cinema shine." — Andréas Rodríguez, El País
"The claim of Ecuadorian cinema to a higher international profile is strengthened considerably by Ana Cristina Barragan's Alba...It is loaded with weepie potential but diligently shuns the facile at every turn, playing it for an emotional truthfulness which is embodied in a fine, trembling central performance by Macarena Arias and in its sensitive, empathetic script." — Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter
"With Alba, the director manages to communicate with the whole world." — Alonso Díaz de la Vega, El Universal
"A Latin American film that clearly shows that you can tell a good story without large production." — Rafael Rosales Santos, Konexión
Citation
Main credits
Cristina Barragan, Ana (film director)
Cristina Barragan, Ana (screenwriter)
Merino, Amaia (actor)
Arias, Macarena (actor)
Aguirre Andrade, Pablo (actor)
Parra, Isabel (film producer)
Other credits
Cinematography, Simón Brauer; editor, Yibran Asuad.
Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects
Economics + Social Class Issues
Family
Health + Aging
South America
Women
Youth
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
International Film Festival Rotterdam - Lions Films Award
Cinélatino Rencontres de Toulouse - FIPRESCI Award
Rail D’Oc prix
International Women's Film Festival Cologne - Best Feature Film
San Sebastián Film Festival - Jury Mention
Lima Film Festival - Best First Feature Film Premio APC
Altura International Film Festival - Best Film, Best Actress, Audience Award
DIRECTOR: Ana Cristina Barragán
NATIONALITY: Ecuador, Mexico, Greece
YEAR: 2016
GENRE: Drama, Fiction
LANGUAGE: Spanish
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults
SUBTITLE/CC: NOT AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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