Madeinusa
Encyclopedia
Madeinusa is a 2005 film set in the fictional indigenous village of Manayaycuna ("the town no-one can enter" in Quechua
) in the Peruvian
Andes
. The story covers three days in the lives of the villagers and a stranger from Lima
. The stranger, Salvador (Carlos de la Torre), is unwelcome because he has arrived at the beginning of the "Holy Time," a syncretic religious festival spanning Good Friday
and Easter Sunday. The villagers of Manayaycuna believe that during "Holy Time" God, symbolized by an effigy of Christ
, is dead and, therefore, nothing is a sin. The drama centers around the encounter of the eponymous Madeinusa (Magaly Solier
), a teenaged girl selected as the festival's Immaculate Virgin and daughter of the village mayor, with Salvador.
Quechua languages
Quechua is a Native South American language family and dialect cluster spoken primarily in the Andes of South America, derived from an original common ancestor language, Proto-Quechua. It is the most widely spoken language family of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a total of probably...
) in the Peruvian
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
. The story covers three days in the lives of the villagers and a stranger from Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
. The stranger, Salvador (Carlos de la Torre), is unwelcome because he has arrived at the beginning of the "Holy Time," a syncretic religious festival spanning Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
and Easter Sunday. The villagers of Manayaycuna believe that during "Holy Time" God, symbolized by an effigy of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, is dead and, therefore, nothing is a sin. The drama centers around the encounter of the eponymous Madeinusa (Magaly Solier
Magaly Solier
Magaly Solier Romero is a Peruvian actress and recording artist.She was born in the province of Huanta, in the region of Ayacucho, a region that suffered from the systematic violence of terrorism during the late 80s and early 90s....
), a teenaged girl selected as the festival's Immaculate Virgin and daughter of the village mayor, with Salvador.
Awards
- Winner, Best Latin-American Narrative Feature, Mar del Plata Film FestivalMar del Plata Film FestivalThe Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina...
- Winner, Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay, Cine Ceará Festival Nacional de Cinema
- Winner, Fipresci Prize, International Film Festival RotterdamInternational Film Festival RotterdamThe International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
- Winner, Best Original Screenplay, Havana International Film Festival