19th Floor

synopsis

For three years, the director has been capturing the ever-changing face of Bogotá from the windows of her 19th-floor flat. The time-lapse footage alternates between day and night, depicting everything from minor street scenes to major events – fireworks, a fire, demonstrations and riots. Their political context is occasionally complemented by the sound of television news reports. Gradually, however, the filmmaker’s private life also becomes interwoven with her observations of the city: we hear conversations with her partner and read their messages to one another, ranging from everyday questions about what’s for dinner to tense moments in their relationship. Following the death of her life and film partner, the footage – originally a record of everyday life – takes on new meaning. While the image remains turned outwards, towards the city beyond the windows, the sound opens up the intimate space of a family whose members we never see directly. The bird’s-eye view maintains a distance from the events taking place far below the windows; at the same time, however, personal experience permeates the captured images. From fragments of the city, sounds, news reports and private conversations emerges a cinematic reflection on memory, mourning and the significance that ordinary moments acquire the instant they become memories.

“It is a first-person account of a family looking outward while the story unfolding within gradually pulls them apart.” — Patricia Ayala Ruiz

Source of the quote: Interview with the director. ALZATE VARGAS, César. Entrevista a Patricia Ayala Ruiz: Un diálogo que no termina. Canaguaro: Revista de cine colombiano.

biography

Patricia Ayala Ruiz (1973) is a Colombian director, producer, journalist and educator. She founded the production company Pathos Audiovisual and has long been involved in auteur documentary filmmaking. Her film Don Ca (2013) won the prestigious Macondo Film Award in Colombia for Best Documentary.

film details

director:	Patricia Ayala Ruiz
producer:	Octavio Céspedes
script:	Patricia Ayala Ruiz
photography:	Patricia Ayala Ruiz
editing:	Carlos Cordero, Patricia Ayala Ruiz
music:	Valentina Castillo

contact

Bibata Omara / Sombra films
investiga.cine@gmail.com