Rob Munday
Filmmaking can be a cathartic process. While this is hardly a revelatory observation, it can offer valuable insight into a filmmaker’s motivations and the personal significance of the stories they choose to tell. For Sisa Quispe, the writer, director and star of today’s pick, URPI: Her Last Wish, bringing the film to the screen became a journey towards “better understanding who I am today”, while also serving as a fitting tribute to her recently departed abuelita.
“The film became my protest against the labels imposed on me by governments and institutions”
Quispe describes URPI as a form of “protest” against the labels imposed on people by governments and institutions. Yet, while the film has a distinctly rebellious spirit, its defiance is expressed not through anger or bitterness, but through warmth and celebration. As we accompany the titular Urpi on her travels, the film’s rich colour palette, uplifting soundtrack and striking landscapes combine to create an uplifting cinematic experience. There is an almost tangible warmth to the imagery, as though the film’s sense of connection and belonging extends beyond the screen itself.
For much of its runtime, URPI: Her Last Wish might be mistaken for a two-hander, following Urpi on her journey to the Sacred Valley of the Incas alongside a young Quechua man she meets along the way. While the performances from Quispe and Juan Abel Ojeda Llanos are compelling, however, the film’s wider significance lies in the people and places encountered along the journey – making them characters in their own right. Its predominantly Quechua cast and the real Andean locations lend the film a sense of cultural specificity and lived experience that extends beyond the central relationship.
Quispe (L) also stars in her short, alongside Juan Abel Ojeda Llanos
If URPI represents Quispe’s own attempt to reconnect with her roots, the film also invites us to accompany her, offering a window into communities and cultures that many viewers may never have the opportunity to experience first-hand. In doing so, it fosters a sense of connection across cultural divides, making the world feel a little less cold and fragmented – a sentiment that feels particularly resonant today.
A previous winner of the Focus Features Short Film Showcase and the Grand Jury Prize at Ouray International Film Festival, we’re honoured to share URPI: Her Last Wish on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. To mark the occasion further, we also invited Quispe to recommend other short films that celebrate Indigenous heritage, offering readers an opportunity to discover more of the filmmakers and stories that deserve to be seen.