Enticed by the promise of a few dollars worth of beer money, cautious and pensive Pinilla (Vicente Quintero) and wiry hothead Chumba (Giovanny García) set out from their impoverished village of El Amparo with a dozen other men on a rag-tag fishing expedition near the Venezuela-Colombia border. But a day later the pair returns shaken to the core and without any of their compatriots, sparking a frenzy of fear, grief and accusations. As the details of what really happened come out, nervous local officials quickly move in to establish their own version of events and offer generous "assistance" to anyone willing to go along, tearing at the fabric of this once proud community and creating a scandal that reaches the highest echelons of power in this taut, powerful thriller.

Based on the events of October 1988 that rocked Venezuela, the debut feature from director Rober Calzadilla and screenwriter Karin Valecillos burns with the urgency of the finest socio-political thrillers: at once a tender, authentic rendering of village life and a blistering exposé of the lengths power will go to save itself.

Winner: Audience Award, Biarritz