Southern District

(Zona sur)
Juan Carlos Valdivia | Drama, Fiction, Comedy, Romance

2011 | 109 minutes | Bolivia

Bolivia’s official entry for the Academy® Awards, this searing portrait of a patrician family in flux exposes the bubble of decadence in which they exist. The threat of shifting aristocratic privilege heralds a new era in a seemingly interminable class war.

Synopsis

La Paz’s Zona Sur neighborhood is Bolivia’s most exclusive enclave and has housed the country’s affluent elite for generations. In an adobe-tile-roofed castle, a statuesque matriarch reigns over her spoiled offspring and indigenous servants. But social change, however unwelcome, is on its way. As the mother squabbles with her self-indulgent, oversexed teenage son and clashes with her petulant daughter, her 6-year-old boy wanders the rooftops unsupervised. The scent of impending decline permeates the air, and the threat of shifting aristocratic privilege heralds a new era in a seemingly interminable class war. Bolivia’s official entry for the Academy® Awards, this searing portrait of a patrician family in flux exposes the bubble of decadence in which they exist. With outstanding cinematography, director Juan Carlos Valdivia elevates camerawork from a craft to the level of art.

Reviews

"Slow-paced and character driven, color plays a dramatic role in the background of this film. The façade of black and white with which the house is sumptuously decorated hides the fact that Carola can no longer afford her Beverly Hills-esque lifestyle. The family wears dazzling white almost exclusively until the reality of their changing situation hits them full-force and suddenly, everyone is wearing black. Human touch also figures in: early on, it's merely manipulative, but in the final moments, has the ability to offer true meaning and compassion...Southern District offers a dramatic picture of family dynamics in modern day South America. " — Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic Seminary Library, Pittsburgh, EMRO

"Zona Sur is, without a doubt, the most mature and personal movie of this filmmaker, who took his first steps on the complex road of full-length films fourteen long years ago." — Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert

"What this author has achieved is a cinematic work, which, although very personal, graphically portrays this mutating society." — Sergio de la Zerda, Laromona Magazine

"Zona Sur is a movie that has arrived to legitimize and bring Bolivian digital cinema to its apex...The most successful Bolivian cinematographic work in recent years." — Santiago Espinoza A.

"This magnificent production, a true work of art, could be interpreted as the epistle of a class in retirement, from which only nostalgia remains, between the pitiful melodies of an aristocratic piano and the whispers of a boy who one day wanted to fly." — Sergio Zapata, Fotogenia

Citation
Main credits

Valdivia, Juan Carlos (film director)
Valdivia, Juan Carlos (screenwriter)
Maire, Gabriela (film producer)
Castillo, Ninón del (actor)
Loayza, Pascual (actor)
Fernández, Nicolás (actor)
Koria, Juan Pablo (actor)

Other credits

Director of photography, Paul de Lumen; editor, Iván Layme; music, Cergio Prudencio.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
La Paz, Zona Sur, Bolivia, privilege, patriarcal family, working class, class, spanish, spanish language, latin america, latin american cinema, latin american film, ibero america, latin, latinx, latino, latina,,gender, sexuality, gender roles, gender identity, sexual orientation, gender equality, gender pronouns, gender studies, gender spectrum, gender norms, gender roles, gender stereotypes, sexual selection, sexualization, sexual awakening, puberty, pubescence,racism, discrimination, prejudice, ethnicity, ethnic, race studies, ethnic studies, racist, racial sensitivity, bias, prejudice, racial prejudice, ethnic prejudice, genetics, hereditary, culture, ethnic culture, ethnology, ethnography, ethnic sensitivity,latin american studies, caribbean american studies, island studies, latin american culture, latin american history, latin american politics, caribbean american culture, caribbean american history, caribbean american politics, latin american languages, latin american and caribbean studies, hispanic american studies, hispanic people, hispanic culture, hispanic politics,indigenous peoples, indigenous people, indigenous, native, native people, native peoples, aboriginal people, aboriginal, aborigine, indigene, indigeneity, tribes, tribal, tribal people, tribal peoples,family, kin, fellowship, household, immediate family, extended family, multigenerational family, multigenerational household, kinfolk, family tree, genealogy, nuclear family, modern family, family tree,oscar® contenders, oscar® awards, oscar® nominees, oscar® nominee, oscar contenders, oscar® consideration, oscar awards, oscar nominees, oscar nominee, oscars, oscar consideration, oscar® finalist, academy awards, academy award, academy award nominee, academy award nominees, academy award consideration,child, children, childhood, kid, girl, girlhood, boy, boyhood, teen, teenager, puberty, adolescence, adolescent, coming-of-age, minor, kiddo, kids, juvenile, stripling, moppet, tyke, tween, tot, toddler, sonny, girlie, underaged, dependent, youngster, infancy, babyhood, girlhood, boyhood, friendships, juvenescence, juvenility, springtime, early life,sociology, anthropology, psychology, sociological, sociological perspectives, conflict theory, human conflicts, sociological thinking,conflict perspective, topics in sociology, sociology topics, sociology studies, social studies, people and cultures, human relations, human relationships, cultural studies, culture studies ,south america, south american countries, countries in south america, argentina, bolivia, brazil, chile, colombia, ecuador, guyana, paraguay, peru, suriname, uruguay, venezuela, south american politics, south american culture, south american cuisine, south american education, south america in media, south american languages, south america history,women, womanhood, gender, girl, girlhood, mother, motherhood, female, cis woman, cis female, trans woman, trans female, women’s rights, women’s issues, lady, ladies, gentlewoman, madame, miss, missus, mrs., dame, damsel, ingenue, lass, maid, maiden, belle, gal, ladyfriend, girlfriend, dear, darling, widow, matron, dowager, gender, gender equality, gender pay gap, women’s liberation, women’s rights,zona sur,Bolivia,Southern District,zona,la zona,southern distrcit,distrito sur,zone sur,soren,sur,spanish,2637610,zona rio,southern zone,la grande bouffe,la historia oficial,la paz,chile,Latin American cinema,Sur le chemin de l’école,la grand vadrouille,ecuador,winner of the grand jury prize at the sundance,zona sue,monos,aymara,sundance,paz,boy,drama,piano,film bolivia,short film spanish,Offspring; "Southern District"; Pragda Films
Clips
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Festivals

Academy Awards® - Bolivia's submission for Best Foreign Language Film
Sundance Film Festival; Berlin Film Festival
Havana Film Festival
Huelva Latinoamerican Film Festival - Best Cinematography
Guadalajara International Film Festival

DIRECTOR: Juan Carlos Valdivia

NATIONALITY: Bolivia

YEAR: 2011

GENRE: Drama, Fiction, Comedy, Romance

LANGUAGE: Spanish; Aymara; Indigenous languages

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: College, Adults

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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