La Pelea

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Note of intent

Few blocks from my apartment in Cochabamba, people with disabilities were protesting for months. Then one day I saw them hanging from a bridge in their wheelchairs and couldn’t watch from a distance any longer. We started to follow their journey, it was an intense time, we walked with them for 35 days over the mountains and then camped on the streets of La Paz for another three months. The Fight, is a film about human relationships, about leadership and the political rights of a group of citizens

Synopsis

People with disabilities are amongst the most discriminated in Bolivia, with the majority living in dire poverty. Fed up with being ignored, a group of them decide to take their fight to the streets, demanding a monthly pension of $76. When social worker Feliza Ali, and her husband and lawyer Marcelo Vasquez take the lead, the protest grows into a movement. Embarking on an unimaginable journey, that sees them march 260 miles over the Andean mountains in their wheelchairs to go toe-to-toe with the Bolivian government.

Visual concept

The Fight is a multilayered film, driven by the characters, they’re witty and passionate and their humor will prevail over the most violent scenes. We are shooting simultaneously with two cameras filming scenes in verité style. The narrative will be created with intimate footage of the characters’ journey, intertwined with our personal encounters with undercover spies and police, to show the control and intimidation by the government over press freedom, along with official state propaganda to illustrate how public opinion is shaped.