Let me hug you! (2021)
DIRECTOR: Julian David Loaiza Pineda
ABSTRACT: In the Arctic city of Tromsø, three magnificent women of different ages and backgrounds unfold their intimate lives explaining how they are trying to find and make their place in the world. Sunniva, a 31-year-old Norwegian woman, Magalí, a 36-year-old Argentinian woman, and Tove, an 85- year-old Norwegian woman, share their dreams, passions, and uncertainties, that is, sensitive aspects related to their age and maturity. Their lives are very different, but at the same time very similar. Though having different hopes, they have in common their desire to embrace life and love. (34 minutes)
BIO: Julian David Loaiza Pineda has Masters in Anthropology and Ethnography in the University of Barcelona and Masters in Visual Anthropology in the University of Tromsø – the Arctic University of Norway. He is experimenting with the video camera as a means of research and representation. Through an intimate approach, he tries to discover the simple, but at the same time, the spectacular in people.
DISTRIBUTION: The film can be purchased at the University of Tromsø through the Department of Social Sciences
AVA 2021 Judges: ‘Let Me Hug You! ‘ was a very effective film. I enjoyed how its portrayal of ageing did not focus exclusively on an older person as its central character. Instead, the filmmaker (Julian David Loaiza Pineda) explores ageing through a life-course lens with three woman – Sunniva, a 31-year-old Norwegian woman, Magaliě, a 36-year-old Argentinian woman, and Tove, an 85- year-old Norwegian woman – trying to make sense of their place in the Artic city of Tromsř. For me, it was this personal sense-making from each woman in the film that I found particularly compelling. Through conversations with these three women, Julian explores intersections between gender, intimate relationships, and transitions in everyday lives through the experiences of Sunniva, Magaliě, and Tove. We explore grief through the loss of a close loved one in later life, the freedom and isolation of living alone in your first flat, and the exhilaration and anxiety of migrating to a new country and cultural milieu. As a filmic project from a student of visual anthropology, I look forward to seeing what Julian produces next.
Matthew Lariviere, on behalf of the Board of Judges (Film Category)
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