Retablo

Retablo, the debut feature of director Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio, is a Peruvian film about fourteen year old Segundo, living in a rural Andean village, who discovers that his father Noé, a respected retablo craftsman, has been secretly having relationships with other men outside the family home. Retablos are traditional hand painted Peruvian folk art pieces depicting extended families and communities in detailed miniature; the film's central metaphor rests on the tension between this craft, which depicts family and community in "proper" order, and a rural community steeped in violent homophobia. The director has said the film initially struggled to interest theaters because it was shot in Quechua, but went on to sell out screenings for nine weeks even outside Lima, with families writing to say they watched it together to better understand their children. The film won the Teddy Award and a Crystal Bear Special Jury Mention at the Berlin Film Festival, and became Peru's Oscar submission. Who it's for: anyone curious about a Peruvian film following a boy confronting his father's secret, a respected master of a traditional Peruvian folk art, one that unexpectedly became a box office success at home despite being shot in Quechua. Who it's not for: those wanting a gentle family drama, since the film confronts homophobia directly and without softening it.