La León

It all starts with the mysterious death of a young man. The questions and rumours are many. Was it murder or suicide? Did he kill himself over a girl? The timid Alvaro (Jorge Roman) knows more about the case than he dares say aloud. Alvaro lives on a little island by the Paraná River in the Argentinean no man’s land. He is secretly breaking the greatest taboo of this male-dominated environment – he has sexual affairs with other men. One who disapproves of this is El Turu (Daniel Valenzuela), the skipper of the ferry La León, the islanders’ only connection to the mainland and the outside world. El Turu has an aggressive attitude towards most people who don’t conform, whether in sexual leanings or skin colour. El Turu regards Alvaro as a threat to the little, protected island. And the situation only get worse when El Turu starts to suspect that Alvaro is helping lumberjacks who illegally exploit the island’s natural resources.

La Léon is shot in lovely black-and-white, in lingering images that emphasise the watchful mood between Alvaro and El Turu. The film was honoured with a Special Mention during the presentation of the Teddy Award at this year’s Berlin festival. kk

“With admirable restraint, Otheguy presents the growing tension between the two men, nicely integrating their story with scenes of the watery network around them so the environment and its impact never fade into the background.” – Jay Weissberg, Variety