Running time: 80 mins.

A hybrid work set in the uniquely rough world of the Bolivian mines, Dark Skull is a character drama and an idiosyncratic portrait of workers’ daily lives. The narrative unfolds around the troubled and troublesome Elder, sent to live with his grandmother in Huanuni, a small country town in Bolivia. Once there, Elder proves a constant embarrassment to his godfather, Francisco, frequently skipping work to get drunk or high. But his off-the-clock activities eventually lead him to a dark secret about Francisco’s involvement in his father’s death. Shot largely inside the mines, and made in collaboration with the miners’ union, Kiro Russo’s elegant and formally daring film employs an ambitious structure and gorgeous cinematography to express the nuances and codes of the workers.

About the Director:
Director, producer and screenwriter Kiro Russo was born in La Paz, Bolivia in 1984. He studied Film Directing in Buenos Aires. He filmed the shorts ENTERPRISSE (2010), JUKU (2012, Short Film Grand Prize at IndieLisboa), and NEW LIFE (2015), awarded at Locarno and Ficunam. DARK SKULL (2016) is his first feature film, set to premiere at the FF Locarno.