Cocote
Fall Grants 2016
Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias / Feature Narrative / Dominican Republic, Argentina, Germany, Qatar / 2017 / 100 min / Original Language: Spanish / Interests: Drama
Synopsis
Alberto, a gardener who works in the city, travels to his hometown to attend the funeral of his deceased father, who has been killed by a policeman. Upon arrival, he finds that there is to be no burial, but instead a three-day ritual to mourn and celebrate his father’s death. Now a devotee of the Protestant church, Alberto considers this ritual, with its Catholic and African roots, to be satanic and immoral and wholly against his new belief system. Over the course of the celebrations, Alberto faces setback when his family announces their true desire: that he avenge his father’s death. Overwhelmed, Alberto becomes lost in the repetition of small town life, his thoughts confront different ideas of God and the notion of murder presents itself as the only solution that will restore order.
Credits
- Director
- Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias
- Screenwriter
- Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias
- Producer
- Fernando Santos Díaz, Lukas Valenta Rinner
- Production Company
- Guasabara Cine
- Production Company
- Guasábara Cine
About the Director
Nelson Carlo De Los Santos was born in Santo Domingo, Argentina, in 1985. He studied cinematography in Buenos Aires and later at the Edinburgh College of Art, where he began making experimental works. He received his MFA in Film/Video from the California Institute of the ARTS. During this period, he made an observational documentary which has screened in festivals in the United States, Europe and Latin America, including Tropical Uncanny at the Guggenheim New York. His thesis work, “Santa Teresa y Otra Historias” (2015), is a feature-length essay film that had its world premiere at FIDMarseille, where it won the Prix Georges de Beauregard. It was selected for the Mar del Plata International Film Festival, where it was named Best Latin American Film; the New York and Toronto International Film Festivals; and the Venice Film Festival. It also took the Best First Film Prize at the Cinema Tropical Awards in 2016. His most recent film is ‘Cocote’.
Awards and Festival History
Festivals
Toronto IFF 2017, Wavelengths
San Sebastian IFF 2017, Horizontes Latinos
Hamburg FF 2017
Valdivia FF 2017
Singapore IFF 2017, Cinema Today
Rotterdam IFF 2018
"Best Film, Locarno FF 2017, Signs of Life (WP)
Best Picture Award and Special Jury Mention, Mar del Plata 2017
DR’s Official Submission for the 2019 Academy Awards - 2018 Best Foreign Language Film Race"