Stranded in New York after discovering her passport has expired, María (48) becomes a tourist in her own city while her family and friends think she's in the Far East.
This story starts when changing locations becomes impossible. María (48) arrives at the airport, intending to escape the worn-out web of her daily life. But once there, she finds out her passport has expired. With no way out and longing for other worlds, María assumes a new identity and checks into a hostel, becoming a tourist in New York.. Meanwhile, her husband and friends think she's in Bangkok.
The audience senses that something is missing, an absurdity permeates her wanderings through Buenos Aires. Why does she keep lying to her husband every time they talk on the phone, even though their relationship seems picture-perfect? What is she escaping from? How far will she go to discover her true self?
Maintaining the lie requires the skill of a seasoned actress, and María performs it in a game of doubling that becomes a liberating way of life. To avoid being recognized, Maria wanders through her city, dressed in a long coat, sunglasses, scarf, and cap, like someone straight out of a film noir. The air around her thickens with mystery, just like her entire new existence.
During this false journey, which begins with an impulsive, almost adolescent mistake, María will navigate through various experiences and film genres: she’ll dodge the police a few times, desire will catch up with her again, her hair will turn blonde, and she might even acquire a fake passport along the way. All the while, she’ll grapple with a nagging feeling that her husband is about to find her out. Yet, she’ll keep up the pretense of her 'Southeast Asian adventure' in daily calls.
By the end of her journey, our heroine discovers that returning home won't be as simple as she thought: she is no longer the same. She must then choose between going back to her husband or embracing her new identity.
A ROAD MOVIE
WITHOUT BORDERS OR HIGHWAYS
Luz Orlando Brennan (Buenos Aires, Argentina) screenwriter, director and producer of theater and film. She graduated as a screenwriter from ENERC and trained in different acting schools. She also studied Sociology and Literature at the UBA. Her works as a screenwriter toured many festivals around the world, like Berlinale, San Sebastián, Viennale, AFI Film Festival, Annecy International Film Festival, and Ottawa International Animation Festival, BFI London, Zurich International Film Festival, Havana International Festival and Guadalajara International Festival. As a screenwriter, she has collaborated with numerous directors such as Natalia Meta (Death in Buenos Aires, 2014), Bárbara Cerro (Artemis, Dior, All the futures) Diego Fried (The Silent Party, 2019), Ariel Martínez Herrera (Toxico, 2020), as an assistant director for the director Edgardo Castro (La Noche, Familia) and as an associate producer in El prófugo (The Intruder, 2020) by Natalia Meta, selected in the 70 Berlinale Competition.
Her short film En Crítica (Critica, 2014) was screened in several festivals such as Shnit International Short Film Festival and the Sapporo International Short Film Festival (Japan), among others. Theatrically, Luz directed and adapted for stage Memento Mori based on the famous novel by Muriel Spark premiered at El Camarin de las Musas theater.
For over 10 years, she has taught screenwriting at the MFA studies in film directing at Universidad del Cine (FUC), highlighted by Variety as one of the 2019 best film schools.
La estrella que perdí/The Star I Lost (2024), her first feature film, was selected by festivals such as Cleveland International Film Festival (USA), BAFICI (Argentina) and SANFIC (Chile), FAM (Brasil) and had its premiere in Argentina with eight weeks on the bill and screened in more than sixty movie theaters.
