A School in Cerro Hueso

Little gestures as opposed to big words: Betania Cappato gently guides us through the world of her autistic protagonist and demonstrates the value of quiet impartiality.

Secretly is the only way Julia can cut the fingernails of her sleeping daughter, Ema. The autistic girl would otherwise fight back. She’s already been rejected by 17 schools because she doesn’t speak and hardly communicates at all. Only the headmistress in a remote village says: “We’re a small school. Here, people help each other.” In almost documentary-like images, the director observes Ema and her parents, who are now moving from the big city to the countryside. Casual gestures from their new neighbours and schoolmates teach the three of them the value of informal and unbiased togetherness: a kiss here, a smile there. They take the family as it is and show that it’s OK to live by your own rules and thus eventually be accepted – by yourself and by society.

Director