El Grill de César / César’s Grill
(Darío Aguirre, 2013, 88 min, Spanish with English subtitles)

The filmmaker’s father expected his son to take over his grill restaurant in Ecuador, but he decided to pursue art in Germany instead. After years of no contact, saving the failing restaurant becomes their joint project. Cesar’s Grill tells the story of the vegetarian filmmaker’s return to Ecuador to solve the problems of his passionately carnivorous father with ideas that might, at best, work out in Germany. What starts out as an absurd mission, develops into a touching story about unfulfilled expectations and medding a father-son relationship.

Performance by Ñukanchik Llakta Wawakuna provides Ecuadorian immigrant families an opportunity to strenghten their cultural identity through learning folkloric dance, Spanish and Kichwa languages, and indigenous knowledge. For Passport Thursdays, Wawakuna, along with collaborators Tukulla Jatarishun and Comunidad Andina, come together to sharing their Andean culture with the world through a presentation of folkloric dance and music.