In this dramatic comedy, 27-year-old Elisa dreams of opening her own hairdressing salon in an upscale district of Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital. Rebellious and independent, she decides one day to leave her mother's house with her two children and break up with Garcia, her boss and lover, furious that he refuses to get married. In a single day, her life is turned upside down: with no roof over her head, no job and no money, she has to find a way to bounce back. With the help of her friend Loulou, she lands a job at Dona Jacqueline's brothel. Without realizing the consequences, Elisa gradually slips into prostitution, which takes her all the way to Barcelona. There, she meets love and abuse, and becomes embroiled in rivalries between transvestite gangs. Despite all this, she keeps a single goal in mind: to raise the money needed to realize her dream of a hairdressing salon in Montevideo.
Produced by Saga Film (Belgium), BFS Producciones (Uruguay), Avalon Film Production (Spain), ICAIC (Cuba), in coproduction with RTL-TVI, Canal 10, Intendencia Municipal de Montevideo (Uruguay). Developed with the support of Sources, Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab, AECI, ORT, La Fondation Alsur and Fondo Capital de la Intendencia Municipal de Montevideo, produced with the support of Ibermedia, Fondo Nacional Audiovisual (Uruguay), Centre du Cinéma et de la Communauté Française de Belgique and Télédistributeurs wallons, with the participation of Via Digital.
Directed by Beatriz Flores Silva
Cast: Mariana Santangelo, Silvestre, Josep Linuesa, Andrea Fantoni, Fermi Herrero, Marta Gulden
Screenplay: Beatriz Flores Silva, Jans J. Kovacsi, based on the novel "El Huevo de la Serpiente" by Maria Urruzola
Music: Carlos da Silveira
Producer(s) : Hubert Toint, Beatriz Flores Silva, Stefan Schmitz
Executive producer(s) : Hubert Toint
Director of photography: Francisco Gozon
Costumes: Solange Guillemette
Live sound: Ricardo Castro
Image editing: Marie-Hélène Dozo, Daniel Marquez
Sound mixing: David Miranda
International Sales: Bavaria Film International
Trieste Festival, 2001: Special Jury Prize
Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival: Golden Column for Best Film
Latinoamerican Film Festival UC Irvine: Audience Award
Lérida Film Festival: Best Film, Best Actress and Audience Award
Festival Villaverde: Best Actress Award
Bogota Film Festival: Best Director Award
Latinoamerican Film Festival Havana: Radio La Habana Cuba Award
Chicago Latin Film Festival: Second Audience Award
Los Angeles International Latin Film Festival: Third Audience Award
4th Santa Cruz Ibero-American Film Festival: Special Jury Mention
Vina del Mar International Film Festival: Best Actress Award
Asuncion International Film Festival: Audience Award
Miami Latino Film Festival: Special Jury Mention
Festival Cinésul: Mercosur Trophy, Audience Award
Montreal Festival
San Sebastian Festival
Mostra de Sao Paolo
Operas Primas latinoamericanas de Buenos Aires
Muestra de Mexico
Festival de San Juan de Puerto Rico
Geneva Latin American Film Festival
Mannheim Festival
Torino Festival, 2001
Bingen-Stuttgart International Francophone Film Festival
New York's CinemaFe Film Festival
Oscar, 2002: Uruguay's representative in the race for the Best Foreign Film nomination
Bordeaux Festival
Crétéil Festival
Toulouse Latin Film Festival
Philadelphia Film Festival
Mineapolis/St Paul International Film Festival
Providence Film Festival
Riverside Latin Film Festival
Troia Film Festival
Toronto, Montreal and Calgari Hispano-American Film Festivals
Shanghai Film Festival
3rd Nicaragua Ibero-American Film Festival
Karlovy Vary Film Festival
Kino Aero Festival
Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival
Southern Film Festival
Rio Film Festival
Bogota Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Greater Palm Spring International Hispanic Film Festival
Rehoboth Fillm Festival
Atlanta High Museum of Art Latin American Film Festival
New Delhi International Film Festival
Prague Febiofest Festival
