PIRATAS

PIRATAS is a documentary film that was written, directed, cut and produced by Roy Álvarez. It was carried out with Rick van der Brug as a director of photography and editor, and Wouter Tjaden who was in charge of sound production and sound design. Their participation in this project was possible through Utrecht School of the Arts, and the Program for Cultural Identity, Arts and Technology associated to the School of Arts at Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. Both students came to Costa Rica as a part of an international internship school program. Afterwards, young composer and choral conductor Byron Latouche joined this project by composing the music for PIRATAS.

Synopsis

Necessity is the mother of invention. In Escazú, a suburb in Costa Rica, that is the daily story of retired heads of families- including females-, former government employees, and elderly people, who have created their own characters behind a steering wheel. “The PIRATAS”, as illegal taxi drivers are referred to in Costa Rica, now represent an ever-increasing group, totaling more than 600 in Escazú alone. When life starts sliding downhill people reinvent their own lives. PIRATAS is a story about that reinvention and the daily battle for survival.

The making of PIRATAS

Some shots of the actual movie