DONDE LOS ARBOLES DAN CARNE (WHERE THE TREES BEAR MEAT) tells the parallel stories of two families of gauchos, the famed cattle ranchers of the Pampa region of Argentina, whose lives are shaped by their relationship to the land, as well as the humans and animals that inhabit it. Omar and Antonio, the heads of the two families, spend most of their time outside of their homes, working during the day and drinking with friends at night. In the meantime, their wives take care of the house and children. However, the film isn’t a stereotypical exposé of a traditional and patriarchal society. The modern gaucho isn’t just a heroic figure, as represented by the painter Francisco Molina Campos: the fiery guardian of the land who tames animals and kills predators. Nowadays, gauchos struggle with their geographical isolation, far away from the institutions that don’t provide them with any sort of support or aid. Farming is a dying profession in Argentina as well, and the few remaining gauchos, like Omar and Antonio, are in search of a new identity.
About the Filmmaker
Alexis Franco was born on November 21, 1975. He lives and works in the United States. In his two careers, Cinema and Architecture, he has participated in a selection of projects with worldwide recognition. He was involved in movies like: The Passage, Low Tide, Stop the pounding heart, The other side and What you gonna do when the world is on fire? where he worked with the renowned Film Director Roberto Minervini as his Assistant Director. All the films toured the world with premieres at important festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Argentina, New York, Germany, Spain, etc. He also worked on a documentary in Cuba: El Quijote del Caribe and eventually was involved as Executive Producer of the film Dirty Feathers which had its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. He studied music at the American Musical Institute where he obtained the titles of Professor of Music. As an Architect in the United States, he became an international member of the American Institute of Architects. In Houston Texas he works at Collaborative Designworks with. Alexis designed and participated in many projects that were awarded and recognized state and nationally. Now with he is producing a film in Japan, Yasuo and he is working on his first two films as a director, Where the trees bear meat and Permeable prisons in with Argentina, Spain, United States and Portugal.
