La casa

Building dreams out of rubbish. For 40 years the Mendez family have been living on illegally occupied land on the forested outskirts of the city of Bogota. Like Sisyphus, they go out every day to scavenge waste in the Columbian capital just to get a step closer to their dream of having their own house. They pick up scraps of food to feed their livestock; junk is flogged for a few centavos. The ground that they occupy – an idyllic estate – becomes overshadowed by an embittered struggle for existence between Victor’s wife Marta and Elvira, his mother. An armed neighbour asserts his claim to a piece of their land. The family’s thirst for life however is insatiable. A hopeful insight into a world of social tensions and existential helplessness. (DOK.fest München)