A Celebration of Pan American Culture Through Film: Inspiring documentaries that bring the diverse stories, vibrant cultures and remarkable contributions of Pan American peoples to the screen.
Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award-winner Heddy Honigmann returns to her birthplace of Lima, Peru, to reacquaint herself and viewers with a place and people dear to her heart. Oblivion paints empathetic portraits of resilient working-class families including child street performers, a frog juice vendor, and a presidential sashmaker, to name a few. She contrasts the work and home environments of people who are employed at Lima’s finest restaurants and hotels but who live in slums in the city’s surrounding hillsides. In typical Honigmann style, she extracts moving, intimate, and often amusing stories from her characters. These reminiscences are interwoven with scenes of contemporary political protest and archival footage. Oblivion introduces us to the everyday reality of Lima, celebrating a people who, despite being politically powerless, have resisted being consigned to oblivion.
In Spanish, with English subtitles.
Through this series, Hot Docs is participating as a Cultural Collaboration with PANAMANIA presented by CIBC, the arts and cultural festival of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.