Virus Tropical

Santiago Caicedo's animated film adapts the graphic novel in which the artist Power Paola told her own life. Paola's childhood is split between Ecuador and Colombia; her father is a former priest, her mother reads fortunes and her two older sisters fail to meet the family's expectations. The film follows her from birth to adulthood in episodes: conflicts at home, sisterhood, first loves, religion and the effort to stand on her own. The visual language is entirely black and white hand-drawn line; the book's own aesthetic is preserved, and Power Paola made thousands of new drawings for the film. The telling is everyday and humorous and seeks no dramatic peaks. It is a Colombian and Ecuadorian co-production. Who it's for: viewers who like adult animation and adaptations of autobiographical comics. Who it's not for: anyone expecting colourful, kinetic animation; the film stays in a sketchbook aesthetic.