02-18-2025, 08:39 AM
Film Title (English and/or Native): The Pursuit of Illusive Desires
Nominating Nation: Aredoa
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 117 minutes
Director: Rich Gutiérrez
Film Rating: 14
Producing Studio/Company: Rivara Studios
Primary Cast:
Ricardo Mendez as Jonás Montes
Catalina Sánchez as Isabel Montes
Elias Bardem as Rafe Alvarado
Brief Summary (No more than 2-3 medium paragraphs please):
San Barrizo is an idyllic village, population 113, in the middle of nowhere. Everyone knows everyone, there is one bus out of town fortnightly, and the police department consists solely of the police chief and his daughter. It is home to 17-year-old twins Jonás and Isabel Montes, who moved from the bustling suburbs of Vahania to the village at the age of 5 to live with their grandma after both parents tragically died in a plane crash. They long for more than their isolated life, and spend their days either outdoors or driving around in their late father’s 1995 Solama Aventuro, an iconic relic of a bygone Aredoa.
While out walking one evening, Jonás and Isabel spot a man sitting at a raging campfire in the ruins of an old medieval structure not far from the village. Suspecting that the man is hiding out here for a reason, the twins become enthused by the prospect of a real-life adventure and begin tailing him. The man, unbeknownst to the twins, is Rafe Alvarado, a gang member and recent prison escapee determined to retrieve the stolen gold that his gang had stashed remotely before the law caught up to them. Alvarado had never been made privy to the exact location of the stash, but he knew it was in the vicinity of San Barrizo. Over the next three days, the innocent curiosity of the twins turns into a fight for survival as Alvarado begins to suspect he is being watched and sets several traps to catch his stalkers, becoming more paranoid and desperate as his search for the gold drags out.
After another day of unsuccessfully searching for the loot, Alvarado returns to his makeshift campsite and catches the twins rummaging through his belongings. Worried that the twins would now be able to identify him, he gives chase, although not yet firing at the twins as he has only two rounds of ammunition left and can’t risk a misfire. Alvarado trips and the twins sprint ahead, dashing over the hills surrounding the campsite and crossing the fields that lead to San Barrizo. Slipping around a corner when they enter the village, the twins evade Alvarado and hide out in an abandoned convenience store. They begin to celebrate, although this is proven to be premature when they hear a volley of shots ringing out - the police chief identified Alvarado from a national police circular and called out for him to stop, provoking the criminal to open fire. Jonás and Isabel rush in the direction of the gunshots, finding a wounded police chief and Alvarado lying dead. To their horror, they discover that an innocent bystander had also been killed in the shootout - their elderly grandmother.
The screen fades to black and displays the message “The pursuit of illusive desires is an inevitable tale of tragedy”, tying together the pursuits of both Alvarado and the twins.
What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories? (No more than 1-2 sentences per category nominated):
The Pursuit of Illusive Desires is nominated for Best Film for its breathtakingly thrilling story inspired by a famous Aredoan fable. It is noted for brilliantly juxtaposing its dramatic scenes, particularly the climactic seven-minute running scene, with occasional cuts to everyday village life - such as an elderly man quietly playing guitar and a group of small children playing hopscotch - that make the dramatic scenes feel even more intense comparatively.
Ricardo Mendez is nominated for Best Lead Actor for his portrayal of Jonás as a bright-eyed, idealistic young man with bundles of self-confidence, encapsulating Jonás’ desire to escape the bleak village and demonstrating feelings of adventure, fear, and grief that viewers can resonate with.
Elias Bardem is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rafe Alvarado, seamlessly playing the role of a complex character that is a hardened, highly dangerous criminal on one hand while also being vulnerable, particularly as the film progresses and Alvarado’s situation gets more and more perilous.
The Pursuit of Illusive Desires is nominated for Best Musical Score for its increasingly frantic orchestral score used in dramatic scenes, as well as its folksy banjo and harmonica-dominated soundtrack for scenes of idyllic village life. These contrasting styles come into contact when dramatic scenes cut away to shots of everyday living and vice versa, signifying the disconnect between the twins’ reckless adventures and the untouched peace of their home village.
Any additional info (optional, short paragraph maximum): The Pursuit of Illusive Desires takes its name from the closing line of a famous Aredoan fable - “The pursuit of illusive desires is an inevitable tale of tragedy”. The fable tells the tale of a greedy fisherman who sets out in search of a mythical fish, only to discover that it was a ruse by deceptive pirates who capture and enslave the fisherman. It was written by an unknown author during Aredoa’s revolutionary period as an allegory for how coastal Aredoans had welcomed visiting Costenan traders with open arms to benefit from their riches, eventually ushering in a brutal colonial period.
Nominating Nation: Aredoa
Nomination Category/Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score
Language: Spanish
Run Time: 117 minutes
Director: Rich Gutiérrez
Film Rating: 14
Producing Studio/Company: Rivara Studios
Primary Cast:
Ricardo Mendez as Jonás Montes
Catalina Sánchez as Isabel Montes
Elias Bardem as Rafe Alvarado
Brief Summary (No more than 2-3 medium paragraphs please):
San Barrizo is an idyllic village, population 113, in the middle of nowhere. Everyone knows everyone, there is one bus out of town fortnightly, and the police department consists solely of the police chief and his daughter. It is home to 17-year-old twins Jonás and Isabel Montes, who moved from the bustling suburbs of Vahania to the village at the age of 5 to live with their grandma after both parents tragically died in a plane crash. They long for more than their isolated life, and spend their days either outdoors or driving around in their late father’s 1995 Solama Aventuro, an iconic relic of a bygone Aredoa.
While out walking one evening, Jonás and Isabel spot a man sitting at a raging campfire in the ruins of an old medieval structure not far from the village. Suspecting that the man is hiding out here for a reason, the twins become enthused by the prospect of a real-life adventure and begin tailing him. The man, unbeknownst to the twins, is Rafe Alvarado, a gang member and recent prison escapee determined to retrieve the stolen gold that his gang had stashed remotely before the law caught up to them. Alvarado had never been made privy to the exact location of the stash, but he knew it was in the vicinity of San Barrizo. Over the next three days, the innocent curiosity of the twins turns into a fight for survival as Alvarado begins to suspect he is being watched and sets several traps to catch his stalkers, becoming more paranoid and desperate as his search for the gold drags out.
After another day of unsuccessfully searching for the loot, Alvarado returns to his makeshift campsite and catches the twins rummaging through his belongings. Worried that the twins would now be able to identify him, he gives chase, although not yet firing at the twins as he has only two rounds of ammunition left and can’t risk a misfire. Alvarado trips and the twins sprint ahead, dashing over the hills surrounding the campsite and crossing the fields that lead to San Barrizo. Slipping around a corner when they enter the village, the twins evade Alvarado and hide out in an abandoned convenience store. They begin to celebrate, although this is proven to be premature when they hear a volley of shots ringing out - the police chief identified Alvarado from a national police circular and called out for him to stop, provoking the criminal to open fire. Jonás and Isabel rush in the direction of the gunshots, finding a wounded police chief and Alvarado lying dead. To their horror, they discover that an innocent bystander had also been killed in the shootout - their elderly grandmother.
The screen fades to black and displays the message “The pursuit of illusive desires is an inevitable tale of tragedy”, tying together the pursuits of both Alvarado and the twins.
What makes this film special? Why was it nominated for this/these category/categories? (No more than 1-2 sentences per category nominated):
The Pursuit of Illusive Desires is nominated for Best Film for its breathtakingly thrilling story inspired by a famous Aredoan fable. It is noted for brilliantly juxtaposing its dramatic scenes, particularly the climactic seven-minute running scene, with occasional cuts to everyday village life - such as an elderly man quietly playing guitar and a group of small children playing hopscotch - that make the dramatic scenes feel even more intense comparatively.
Ricardo Mendez is nominated for Best Lead Actor for his portrayal of Jonás as a bright-eyed, idealistic young man with bundles of self-confidence, encapsulating Jonás’ desire to escape the bleak village and demonstrating feelings of adventure, fear, and grief that viewers can resonate with.
Elias Bardem is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rafe Alvarado, seamlessly playing the role of a complex character that is a hardened, highly dangerous criminal on one hand while also being vulnerable, particularly as the film progresses and Alvarado’s situation gets more and more perilous.
The Pursuit of Illusive Desires is nominated for Best Musical Score for its increasingly frantic orchestral score used in dramatic scenes, as well as its folksy banjo and harmonica-dominated soundtrack for scenes of idyllic village life. These contrasting styles come into contact when dramatic scenes cut away to shots of everyday living and vice versa, signifying the disconnect between the twins’ reckless adventures and the untouched peace of their home village.
Any additional info (optional, short paragraph maximum): The Pursuit of Illusive Desires takes its name from the closing line of a famous Aredoan fable - “The pursuit of illusive desires is an inevitable tale of tragedy”. The fable tells the tale of a greedy fisherman who sets out in search of a mythical fish, only to discover that it was a ruse by deceptive pirates who capture and enslave the fisherman. It was written by an unknown author during Aredoa’s revolutionary period as an allegory for how coastal Aredoans had welcomed visiting Costenan traders with open arms to benefit from their riches, eventually ushering in a brutal colonial period.