17-26 Oct 2025
32nd Edition, Sibiu
17-26 Oct 2025 32nd Edition, Sibiu
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  • Spre Vest, în Zapata
To the West, in Zapata
David Bim / Cuba / 2025 / 75 minute
66
1141038
To the West, in Zapata
How can you live and provide for your family, with a child, in a village in Central America, practicing the traditional craft of hand-catching crocodiles in a jungle where nature rules, where the news fades into the distance, and even the pandemic remains only a distant echo?
New Voices

19 OCT, 15:00 – 16:15

AstraFilm Cinema
Screening
Q&A

25 OCT, 13:00 – 14:15

AstraFilm Cinema
Screening
Q&A
Presents: Catalina Tesar
Guests: David Bim

Film Details

The film immerses us in the perspective of an elderly Cuban man isolated in the Zapata swamps, becoming a visual poem about survival and belonging. In a hypnotic black-and-white sequence — reminiscent of Embrace of the Serpent or the slow takes of Béla Tarr — Landi hunts crocodiles with his bare hands in the overwhelming swamp, while a crackling radio broadcasts news about the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a disorienting temporal anchor. Painterly shots and prolonged takes, focused on tactile details and dense diegetic sounds, highlight the absurdity of a Sisyphean existence, subject to the forces of nature and isolation. The second half of the film centers on his wife Mercedes, portraying her life shaped by caring for their autistic son, caught in a Godot-like waiting.
Producer
Lia Rodriguez, David Bim
Production House
Editor
Sound
Jesús Bermúdez,, Jose Villaman, David Bim
Cinematographer
Davis Bim
Press Kit

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