It takes some understanding of the current political and economic upheaval taking place in Bolivia to fully appreciate Southern District (Zona sur). On the surface this is the story of a wealthy family on the decline. The divorced mother runs a business that is losing clients. Her teenage son is spoiled and addicted to gambling, and her teenage daughter has a lesbian lover who comes from a lower-class background. Her third child is an innocent little boy who enjoys hanging out with the family’s two native servants, in particular, Wilson, who has been with the missus for 25 years. Although the story, which only leaves the family house once, is self-contained, it is really a human manifestation of the social revolution launched by the 2006 election of Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president.
