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New Bolivian Film Explores Andean Music & Mystery
4 May
Summary
- Film centers on Mirelli, a shepherd girl seeking truth about her sister.
- Story blends Andean culture, cumbia, and electronic music elements.
- Project received support from French and Latin American film labs.
Bolivian director Alvaro Olmos Torrico is preparing his third feature film, "Chicha Fantasy," a co-production with Peru's Ayara Prods. and potential partners from Uruguay and Europe. The film's narrative centers on 15-year-old Mirelli, a Quechua shepherd girl, who embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind her sister Martina's death. Martina was a singer in the band Fantasia Chicha, known for its fusion of cumbia and folkloric music with electronic elements.
Mirelli refuses to accept the official explanation for her sister's demise and joins the band, placing herself in danger as she seeks answers. The film draws inspiration from the "chicha" music genre, a Peruvian adaptation of Colombian cumbia popular in the 1960s and '70s, which has a strong presence in Bolivia's urban cultural landscape. Olmos Torrico aims to intimately portray the desires and contradictions within this cultural sphere.
The project has been recognized in development labs, including BAL-LAB at the Biarritz Latin American Film Festival, where it received an award for its screenplay translation into French, along with support from Assistance Audiovisuelle (France). It also participated in Cinema in Development at Cinelatino Toulouse in 2026. Empatia Cinema, Olmos Torrico's production company, focuses on films with Indigenous perspectives and a blend of modern and traditional cultures.
