Austral Films

Sonia Soberats is a sixty-six-year-old Venezuelan woman who lives by herself in a modest apartment in New York City. The pain caused by the death of both her sons resulted in her total loss of vision. She takes care of everything she needs. Today she is a blind photographer.
Through different stages of Sonia’s life and work we will see how two apparently contrary concepts coexist in harmony: a whole new tendency in photography bringing together this expressive art and sight deficiencies.

In Cuba, they have more than 15 years researching a treatment based on a type of indigenous Scorpion venom, which is a great palliative for some types of cancer patients since the venom attacks the cancer cells. We will visit the facilities of the pharmaceutical company (Labiofam) that makes it, we’ll go hunting the Scorpion with Cuban biologists, we sure the director of Labiofam, as well as doctors and Cuban patients and foreigners who had come from all over the world.

Paraguay, April 2008.
After 35 years under Stroessner’s dictatorship and 17 of power and corruption lead by the Colorado Party (the only one allowed after the democratic transition), Fernando Lugo, a former bishop who is running for President, represents the hope to build a better future.
Internationally recognised as an activist for Human Rights and discoverer of the Archives of Terror, Martin Almada leads a lonely and exasperated battle to expose the links between the old dictatorial system and the current corrupted democracy.
Guillermina Kanonnikoff, courageous activist and General Secretary of the Tekojoja Movement, is accompanying Fernando Lugo on his path up until the elections on April 20th.

Puerto Rico’s secret police, supported by the FBI, during decades spied and persecuted those who disagreed with the government. All collected information was classified in archives known as “the files”. An entire network was set up so that this “subversives”, were denied certain jobs through which they could exert some influence or authority (police, university, journalism). On the jobs they were hounded till they resigned. Many citizens had to emigrate since they could not find jobs in Puerto Rico. In some families they even followed the children.

Puerto Cultura is a TV series aimed at exploring the life, work and thoughts of outstanding personalities of various intellectual, artistic and social fields.
Only one person is interviewed in each program; this allows for a more thorough conversation and for delving further into certain concepts which are worth highlighting.
The show is shot live with an audience composed of members of several universities, educational organizations specialized in different areas, schools of journalism, schools of art, and organizations of other types. In the last segment of each episode, the audience takes an active part by asking questions to the interviewed personality, thus creating an environment of interaction among all the people present in the T.V. studio.

For his 50th birthday, Marcos, an obsessive and frustrated writer, receives only an extortion from the Chinese mafia and a wedding invitation from the only girlfriend he ever had, 30 years ago. Tired of his problems and in hopes of seeing his old friends again, Marcos decides to drive across the country to attend the wedding.

Santiago Rubio, Mayor of a Latin American City wants to be the nation President. To achieve his goal, he decides to build the biggest and most important airport in South America. For that purpose, he hires Hoyos Constructing Group, a very corrupt company that instead of building the airport, they spend all nation’s money in their own benefit. Maria Cristina, Mayor´s wife and Gabriel Hoyos lover, is the key piece for the Hoyos to win the contract.

90-year-old Nivia faces an unexpected change. Her daughter Alicia, whom Nivia has lived with for ages, has found a new husband after years of widowhood and understandably wants to move in with him. Nivia disapprove of the relationship and accuses her daughter of abandoning her.
Both women embark on a profound and revealing journey where the longing for a new love and the fear of growing old alone inevitably lead to a clash between mother and daughter. The director, Nivia’s grandson and Alicia’s son, managed to capture in an almost invisible way – as if in a work of fiction – the inevitable sorrow caused by a separation which, nevertheless, took place in a garden where flowers never wither, a dog turns out to be the best psychologist and an annoying pigeon seems to be announcing a miracle.

As long as he can remember, police agent JESUS JUAREZ, has play the role of the DEVIL himself in the traditional Nativity Play.

However this Christmas, things are about to change when the new priest and director of the play: Father and exorcist EDMUNDO POSADAS, leaves him out of the main cast. CHUCHO will have to establish a fierce battle, between good and evil, to recover what by tradition is his.

Is filmmaking possible in a country like Ecuador? Is there an audience in Latina American movies? These are some of the questions posed by an Ecuadorian filmmaker whose latest subsidized movie did not find commercial distribution. He embarks on a filmic query to find answers to his questions and relief for his despair. He speaks to film critics, to the manager of the national cinematheque and to passersby… His research leads him to a giant contraband market in the port city of Guayaquil where pirated movies from all over the world are sold for one dollar.