Catalogue > At random

The video is set in Karakam, an Achuar indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Oriente. The Achuar have been nomadic in this area since ancient times. Following the construction of an airstrip, several families settled permanently in the surrounding area. Using documentary strategies, Landing Strip immerses the viewer in the temporality of Karakam, inviting them to participate in moments of communal gathering and work. The montage of the work is determined by the gaze of each viewer, who has to choose between one screen and the other. The sound reflects the atmosphere of the place and is also the starting point for the imaginary and the unexpected. Landing Strip blurs the boundaries between past/present/future and nature/culture.

José María Avilés (1988, Cuenca, Ecuador), is a filmmaker and artist based in Barcelona. He studied Film Directing in Buenos Aires and holds a Master's Degree in Filmmaking from the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in San Sebastian. He wrote and directed the feature film Al Oriente (Venice International Film Festival 2021) and La muerte del maestro (Rotterdam International Film Festival 2018) and the short films La enorme presencia de los muertos (San Sebastian Film Festival 2019), Speed Paradise (BAFICI, Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival, 2015), Conversaciones en el jardín (BAFICI, Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival, 2014) and Ricchieri (Ciudades reveladas, Buenos Aires, 2013).