ADDRESSES
Directed by María Luisa Santos, Carlo Nasisse
Produced by Natalia Quesada
Costa Rica | Spanish | 14' | Documentary
In Costa Rica there are no street addresses. Or they may exist in some government office, but the people have steadily resisted any effort to develop a centralized system. Instead, an address contains a series of directions in reference to various landmarks. In this film, a Costa Rican woman who has always felt pressing anxiety by this lack of order tries to understand its origins. In doing so she discovers a larger story about human memory and place.
If you’re traveling to Costa Rica, don’t bother with Google Maps. As narrator Maria Luisa Santos shares in this delicate love letter to her home country, most Costa Rican streets don’t have names, and most houses don’t have numbers. For some, like the Postal Service, this is a huge pain. For others, it’s a source of pride. This film begins as an amusing commentary on an antiquated system, and blossoms into a moving reflection on the meaning of home and the lasting impact that places have on our hearts, long after they’re gone. — Kath Tolentino, Programmer
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