RETABLO

Retablo is a sensitive Peruvian coming-of-age drama that received a special mention from Berlinale’s youth jury and the Teddy Newcomer Award for Best First Feature Film.

Raised to take up the family retablo trade – making detailed altarpieces that double as group portraits or recreate religious scenes – 14-year-old Segundo idolises his kind, patient dad. With their handiwork in high demand, their Andean community also holds the craftsman in high esteem. But an unexpected discovery puts their mountainside bliss in jeopardy and leaves Segundo questioning everything he thought he knew.

A heart-wrenching drama about the bonds of blood and the shackles of expectation, Retablo both depicts and dissects prevailing perceptions of masculinity, particularly within close-knit patriarchal villages. Writer/director Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L. contrasts the majesty of the region’s towering landscape with the internalised conflict blighting its inhabitants, with help from a cast that includes The Milk of Sorrow’s (MIFF 2009) Magaly Solier.

"As lovingly assembled as its titular hand-crafted altars, and as strikingly detailed as its stunning Peruvian Andes backdrop." – Screen Daily