Ecuadorian Javier Andrade’s “The Invisible” selected for Toronto Film Festival

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The film ‘The Invisible’ (Lo invisible), by Ecuadorian Javier Andrade, is among the Latin American films selected for the 44th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

The last time an Ecuadorian film made it into this festival was 17 years ago, and, since then, the international film world has become even more competitive, “which makes the feat of ‘The Invisible’ even more significant,” says a statement on the selection.

The Toronto Film Festival began in 1976 and is the premiere of the year’s most important North American and international films.

In September, the Festival is filled with movie stars, directors, critics, and moviegoers, being an event followed by the seventh art industry globally, reads the writing.

“Distinguishing oneself in an extremely competitive international market and managing to enter a festival of the caliber of the Toronto International Film Festival with a film made in Ecuador is an achievement that reflects the talent and tenacity of director Javier Andrade, actress and co-writer Anahi Hoeneisen, cinematographer Daniel Andrade and the entire team,” say producers María Ángeles Palacios and Hanne-Lovise Skartveit.

The film was written in 2016, shot between 2017 and 2019, and post-production took place during the pandemic.

“We believe that with the physical and psychological confinement that people have experienced during the pandemic, the audience will connect with the main character in ways we hadn’t anticipated when we started developing the story years ago,” they added.

They said they are “very excited to see how audiences in Toronto react to the film, which will have an in-person screening in addition to several online screenings at the festival,” which will run in hybrid (in-person and online) mode.

The film is scheduled to be screened in theaters for Ecuadorian audiences in January 2022.

“The Invisible” is the story of 45-year-old Luisa, who returns from a psychiatric facility after severe postpartum depression. Her dazzling home becomes her new place of confinement, surrounded by her family and a crew of employees who strive to keep her outbursts invisible.

Unable to continue playing the role of the wife, the mother, the perfect socialite, her only escape is to slip gracefully into madness.

The film is a co-production between the Ecuadorian companies PUNK S.A. and La Maquinita and the French production company Promenades Films, with international distribution by Trópico Cine.

Lo Invisible will participate in the Festival’s “Discovery” section, which presents an exclusive selection of new talents and discoveries in world cinema.

This is the second feature-length fiction film by director Javier Andrade, whose debut feature “Mejor no hablar (de ciertas cosas)” was the Ecuadorian nominee for the Oscar Awards in 2014.

“Being able to show a film in Toronto is a dream for any filmmaker,” says the director, “and this international launch is a big push for ‘Lo invisible’ and, we hope, for Ecuadorian cinema in general,” he maintained.