Chocó

View the film ONLINE (from anywhere in Canada): February 20 – February 28, 2022

Sliding Scale tickets: $0 – $20

Chocó is 27 years old; she has two children, a tiny hut on the edge of a Colombian village, an underpaid job in a gold mine, a second job laundering clothes, and a marimba-playing husband who gambles away their money and forces himself onto her at night when he’s had too much to drink. Nonetheless, Chocó is a fighter and she is determined to make a better life for her family. As her daughter’s seventh birthday approaches, Chocó promises to buy her a cake. However, fulfilling that promise proves to be much more difficult than expected. 

“An intimate film, heartbreaking and powerful that portrays the suffering of the people of the Chocoano region within an atmosphere of intelligent, sensitive and genuine cinema.” – Alberto Posso Gómez, El País

Chocó es una mujer de 27 años quien ha sido desplazada de sus tierras por la violencia. Lleva a cuestas una familia de dos hijos menores y a su esposo músico que sólo sabe tocar marimba, beber viche y jugar dominó. Es el cumpleaños de la pequeña Candelaria, y por primera vez Chocó le promete una torta, sin embargo, las cosas se complican al tratar de cumplir esta promesa, desencadenando consecuencias inesperadas para Chocó y toda su familia. Chocó también es una clara y poderosa metáfora de la región de Chocó, conocida por su mayoría de habitantes de raíces africanas.

JHONNY HENDRIX HINESTROZA
(Quibdó, October 12, 1975) is a Colombian film director and producer, recognized for directing the films Chocó (2011), Saudo, laberinto de almas (2016) and Candelaria (2017), in addition to his extensive career as a producer. Most of his career has been carried out in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca. Choco marks his directorial debut, which had its world premiere at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival and won Best Film at the Cartagena Film Festival, as well as VLAFF’s 2013 Youth Jury Award for Best New Director.