Best of the fest (day 1/3):

TO THE WEST, IN ZAPATA

(AL OESTE, EN ZAPATA)

Directed by David Bim
2025 | Cuba, Spain | 75 minutes
Spanish with English subtitles

Winner, 2026 Black Merlin Grand Prize (Curation Community)

Official Selection | Regional Premiere

Friday, June 5, 2026 | 6:30 p.m. | City Lights Cinemas in Florence, OR

Friday, June 12, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | Columbian Theater in Astoria, OR

Friday, June 19, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | Olympia Film Society in Olympia, WA

Click here to purchase tickets for Florence (Coming Soon)

Click here to purchase tickets for Olympia (Coming Soon)

Tickets for Astoria are available only at the box office.

TO THE WEST, IN ZAPATA is the winner of our curation community’s 2026 Black Merlin (Grand Prize) Award and part of our Best of the Fest series in Florence, Astoria, and Olympia.

Landi is a father who secretly camps in the wetlands of Zapata, Cuba, where he hunts crocodiles with his hands to feed his family. The radio reports hundreds of daily deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic and strong social tensions in the country. On the coast, his wife Mercedes searches for charcoal to cook and takes care of their son, who lives with severe autism. Days go by, and Mercedes becomes impatient. Landi should have returned by now, and there is no news of him. She fears something has happened to him, but she cannot say anything and risk giving away the details of their livelihood in the swamp.