Western Washington University

05/09/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/09/2025 11:05

Journey to 'Ozogoche’: Film Screening and Director Q & A to be held May 16

Journey to 'Ozogoche': Film Screening and Director Q & A to be held May 16

May 9, 2025

Community members sit at the edge of the Ozogoche Lake. © Botón Films

Join the Honors College and the Environmental Studies Department at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 16 in Fraser 101 for a screening of the award-winning 2023 documentary "Ozogoche," along with South American snacks and drinks and a virtual Q&A with its director, Joe Houlberg Silva.

This event is free and open to the public; watch the film trailer and register to reserve your spot at https://honors.wwu.edu/ozogoche .

About the documentary

In the remote Ecuadorian Andes, the Ozogoche community awaits the celebratory arrival of the Cuvivíes each September. The culturally revered birds, inexplicably, migrate from North America annually to dive to their collective deaths in the cold mountain lakes. This film tells the story of the birds and looks at the reverse journey some in the Ozogoche community face, leaving their homes and traditional way of life in Ecuador to find a different life.

About the director

Joe Houlberg Silva studied Film and Philosophy at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago SAIC. His professional experience includes directing, assistant directing, and producing film projects. He has produced and/or assisted films of three renowned Ecuadorian directors: "Tinta Sangre" (2012) directed by Mateo Herrera, "El Telón" (2013) directed by Victor Arreguí, and Ana Cristina Barragán's first films: "Alba" (2016) and "La Piel Pulpo" (2022), which premiered at Rotterdam and San Sebastian respectively. In 2019, he founded the production company Botón Films, which is dedicated to producing independent Ecuadorian films that challenge the audiovisual language from an authentic and intimate perspective.

WWU's Honors College has done summer study abroad programs in Ecuadorevery other summer for almost a decade; students who have been on this trip or who are interested in going in the future might find additional relevance in attending the screening.

For disability accommodations, please email honors@wwu.edu.

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