PCR20, the first Ecuadorian film to be made and premiered in the middle of the pandemic

The film is available through the PCR20 website and, in the coming months, there will be a new release with more stories from the quarantine.

Darío León, director of the film, had several stories on his desk. The pandemic was the time to take those stories and bring them to the movies. PCR20 is the first Ecuadorian film made and released during the pandemic months. The film is available on their website.

“Why did you accept this madness?” Darío asked the actors and actresses during the film’s premiere. “It was a time to bet on Ecuadorian cinema,” they responded.

In April, at a zoom meeting, Darío spoke with several colleagues to resolve what to do in the midst of the pandemic and with all the limitations that, at that time, prevented a normal recording of a film project.

They decided to use their cell phones to continue this project. “Three months later, we have the first movie shot with a cell phone in the pandemic,” said Dario proudly.

But his ambition was to release a monthly film – “it’s impossible, you can’t,” he laughed. So they developed four stories (comedy, drama, suspense) of up to 30 minutes that are connected to each other. “They are strong stories that have to do with the pandemic,” he commented.

Its objective is to spend a year telling these stories that will be released every month and a half, within the PCR20 project.

“Why did you accept this madness?” Dario asked again, but this time it was to his sponsors who supported his project. “Because we believe in Ecuadorian cinema,” they replied. Each sponsor provided food, transportation, location and other types of service.

Because the financing of the film, Darío said, was zero dollars. “In this film nobody has received money and they have not invested money either. Each one recorded at home, the actors and actresses recorded themselves and then came the magic of post-production, “he said.

The protagonists did not have it easy. Bella Querevalu, one of the film’s actresses, says that it was a challenge to act, film, be her own makeup artist and sound engineer. For actor Alfredo Espinosa, the project demonstrates the importance of having a well-told story, beyond the resources or technological equipment. The cast is completed by Paola Farías, Emma Guerrero, Antonella Moreno, Christian Castillo and Darío León. While Israel Brito was in charge of the musicality of the film.

“I think the most important thing about this experience is to realize that art, in general, is not the technological part or having millions of dollars. Art, essentially, in terms of cinema, is the possibility of telling a story. You put all your sensitivity and technical potential at the service of history and not the other way around, history at the service of technical potential, which is what affects, in general, Ecuadorian cinema, ”said Espinosa.

The film is available through the PCR20 website, at a cost of $ 1.50 and, in the coming months, there will be a new release with more stories from the quarantine.