Winner – Best Actor & Best Screenplay, San Sebastian Film Festival (Official Competition)
Goya Award Nominee – Best Ibero-American Feature Film
Marcelo is a shy, mild-mannered philosophy professor who has worked at the University of Buenos Aires for over 20 years. He is deeply rooted in the old-fashioned, idealistic traditions of the university, especially under the guidance of his mentor and department head, Professor Caselli.
When Caselli unexpectedly dies, a power vacuum opens at the philosophy department. Marcelo assumes he might naturally step into the role, but his expectations are shattered when Rafael Sujarchuk, a charismatic, globe-trotting academic and former student of Caselli, returns to Argentina to compete for the position.
Rafael represents everything Marcelo is not: he’s confident, media-savvy, politically connected, and full of flashy ideas that appeal to the neoliberal turn in academia. The two enter into a bitter rivalry over the professorship, but more importantly, over the future direction of the department — and by extension, the role of philosophy in contemporary society.
As Marcelo’s life slowly unravels — professionally, personally, and ideologically — the film explores the clash between old-school intellectual integrity and the opportunistic pragmatism of the modern academic world.
“A fleet-footed if sharply pointed existential-crisis comedy… that finds wit and wisdom in the last place on earth one might expect to find either: a university philosophy department”.
Written and directed by María Alche and Benjamín Naishtat
Starring Marcelo Subiotto, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Julieta Zylberberg, Alejandra Flechner, Cristina Banegas, Mara Bestelli, Andrea Frigerio, Gaspar Offenhenden, Juan Luppi, Damián Dreizik, Camila Peralta, Héctor Bidonde, and Lali Espósito. Additional supporting cast members include Zulema Galperín, Liliana Juárez, Claudia Cantero, and Teresa Calandra.
Producers: Federico Eibuszyc, Axel Kuschevatzky, Barbara Sarasola-Day
Executive Producers: Phin Glynn, Tristan Vaslot, Eva Zinaï.
Cinematography: Hélène Louvart
Editing: Lívia Serpa
Original Music (Composer): Santiago Dolan
Premieres & Release:
- Debuted in competition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival on 26 September 2023.
- Theatrical release in Argentina began 5 October 2023