LET’S GO TO ANTARCTICA!

Duration 00:05:00
Director: Gonzaga Manso
Producer: Paco Ponce de León
Writer: Gonzaga Manso

Gonzaga Manso is a director and photographer who is specialized in advertisements and art. In 2018, he made his first short film called Let’s Go to Antarctica!

The movie focuses on Carlos, a very enthusiastic traveler who decides to go to Antarctica for his holiday. It may seem like a weird choice for a holiday, but he is an adventurer at heart and it shows – his happy smile and energy showcase just how happy he is being on this very intriguing continent.

Among the seven continents, Antarctica is easily the strangest and most mysterious one. It is not owned by any country legally nor does it have that many people permanently residing there due to a very harsh climate. But it is a fascinating icy world that was perfectly captured on camera in this wonderful film that portrays its surroundings beautifully.

The narration is excellent throughout. Usually, narration can feel excessive or even irritating in a documentary, but not at all in this distance as it’s used just in the right amount and not in an annoying manner whatsoever. The film’s main theme is also very well explored.

In just the short amount of time, running at around five minutes, the film manages to so cleverly deal with traveling and memory, and how it all works. That’s all showcased superbly in the case of the penguins who somehow act as the film’s metaphor for the various people whom one might meet while traveling.

So, these penguins are forever captured by Carlos’ camera, and they will thus be eternally remembered. But because they do not have a camera or any knowledge of it, and because they are these animals with much shorter attention spans than humans, they are most certainly going to forget about Carlos very soon. That irony is at the core of the film, and it really sticks in your mind after seeing the movie.

Let’s Go to Antarctica! is above all else beautifully filmed. The camera captured the ice, the penguins and the harsh, cold and unfriendly, but still strangely fascinating surroundings so well. The editing is also on point as is the direction from Gonzaga Manso. The film is short, only five minutes long, but it flows really well, it makes an impression with its landscapes and its central irony, and it acts as this inviting cry for adventure, and going somewhere new instead of your regular tourist routes. It was shown at both Trento Film Festival and Festival Internacional de Cine de Huesca in 2019 and 2018 respectively.