Guide

After grandma Guián passes away, Nicole decides to go to China for the first time to look for the house Guián left when she emigrated to Costa Rica. This becomes a journey to answer the questions Nicole was never able to ask her because she never learned Chinese, and her grandma never learned Spanish. The whole film is the first and last imagined conversation between her and her grandma and an attempt to come to terms with the duality of her identity.

"Filmmaker Nicole Chi Amén comes from the Chinese community in Costa Rica. She speaks Spanish while her grandmother, Guián, spoke the Cantonese dialect of her birth. Despite having lived in the same town, they were never able to communicate in words. But her grandmother's presence, as well as her mysterious language and culture, were a foundational part of her entire childhood. After Guián's death, the filmmaker embarks on a quest to reconnect with her roots, sharing her experience of the stereotypes and racism she encounters. She creates sensory images by observing Guián's traces and memories, from papaya trees to patterned blouses and her childhood home. By immersing herself in these elements, she seeks to understand the essence of a "lost" country. From Costa Rica to China, poised between languages and traditions, Nicole Chi Amén takes a tender look at her own people, the Chinese community in both Costa Rica and her grandmother's native village. The result is a sublime cinematic diary addressed to Guián."
(Alice Riva - Visions du Réel)

Después de que la abuela Guián fallece, Nicole decide ir a China por primera vez a buscar la casa que su abuela abandonó cuando emigró a Costa Rica. Esta sería la única forma de responder las preguntas que Nicole nunca pudo hacer porque nunca aprendió chino, y su abuela nunca aprendió español. Este viaje la lleva a cuestionar la memoria y el peso del pasado para conformar la propia identidad.