O Auto das Ánimas

In a small village in Galicia in northern Spain, Pablo’s family lives attached to their ancient traditions and beliefs. Feeling that he did not fit into their world, Pablo left 20 years ago to become a filmmaker. But, as both he and his family are growing older, a restless feeling in him starts to get stronger, urging him to go back home to confront the ghosts of the past and find answers, in the limited time they still have together.

As every autumn, his grandmother Alicia opens the doors of her house to continue the ancestral tradition of making “augardente”, a homemade-liquor. The house is prepared, the „augardenteiros“ arrive and the neighbors come join in ritual and celebration. Nothing seems to have changed, but everything is different. Alicia no longer has the same energy and enthusiasm. Santi, the augardenteiro who has been there for many years, seems to have lost the joy in life after many years of hard work. And the habit of Pablo’s parents to not talk about emotions makes it difficult for him to connect and fully grasp what is going on.

Little by little the process of making the liquor, the vapors, the mists, the cold and the rain submerge Pablo into a journey that brings him back to his childhood, his old fears and all that haunts him. Alicia knows her grandson well, and although they seem to live in opposite worlds, she creates a new bond between them through her rites and beliefs. A connection that sets them both on their own journey.