El rezador
[ The Preacher ]
1hr 36m I In competition I Spanish (English subtitles)
Directed by Tito Jara
Two workers find a naked crucified man in the courtyard of an old house being restored, located in the historic center of Quito. Nearby is a parked car; inside is Antanacio in his blood-stained shirt. He is “el rezador” (“the one who prays”). When he gets caught, mobs of angry believers try to lynch him while the police struggle to restrain them. El rezador is the story of a small-time scammer who takes economic advantage of a little girl, who claims to have visions of the Virgin Mary, and who is considered miraculous by thousands of congregants. The business becomes so successful and profitable that it will inevitably get out of hand.
NOVEMBER 2ND @ 4:00PM
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY:
Lifetime Screening Room
2920 Broadway at 115 Street, NY
Q + A INVITADO ZUKO CARRASCO (Libre + Más allá de la cima)
El siguiente cortometraje se proyectará antes del largometraje. [ The following short film will be screened before the feature film. ]
LIBRE (28m) pictured below
Tito Jara
Producer and director of El rezador. The film premiered at the 52nd International Film Festival of India-IFFI-GOA. The first Ecuadorian film with the participation of RTVE, which in its first evaluation in 2021 selected it and acquired its broadcast rights, along with films to be released by such directors as Pedro Almodóvar, Fernando Trueba, Pilar Palomero, and Santiago Mitre. HBO also acquired the film’s European rights, and it became the first Ecuadorian feature film on HBO. It was one of six screenplays chosen from more than one thousand one hundred submissions to the Fundación Carolina Film Project Development Course. Of these, it was one of two with a direct invitation to the Industry Club of the San Sebastián Festival. Selected by the Cinéma en Développement Cinelatino Festival of Toulouse, Bolivia Lab, and, with the support of Cncine, by the Marché du Film in Cannes.
Director, screenwriter, and co-producer of the feature film, A tus espaldas, one of the most watched in Ecuadorian cinematography. The film achieved the best first week of national exhibition (from 2011 to 2021), best-seller in DVD format, most viewed in VOD services, with commercial releases in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Spain. It has toured a dozen festivals, including the Havana Film Festival, Trieste, Genoa (audience award at the festival's Ecuadorian film show), and international shows in India, South Africa, Canada, China, Australia, among others.
Producer of El niño probeta by Carolina Hernández, in post- production, winner of the ICCA Production Fund, co-production of the Ibermedia Program and DAFO of the Ministry of Culture of Peru. Also participated at the Talents BAFICI/Berlinale, Mica Meetings of the Ministry of Culture of Mexico, Bolivia Lab, Fundación Carolina Film Project Development Course, among others.
Producer of the short film, El invento de la soledad by Ana Cristina Franco—winner of “best comedy” at the Chicago Indie Films Awards. Selected by the Ibero-American Federation of Film Academies to represent Ecuador in the Mujeres en Corto show. Also selected by the Paris International Film Festival, San Diego Latino Film Festival, Corto Circuito—The Latino Short Fest of NYC.
