A LUCKY DAY (UNA DIA DE SUERTE) Latin Cinema Series

With a staunch disregard for normal narrative form, Sandra Gugliotta’s documentary background infuses her debut feature film A LUCKY DAY with an electric melding of genres.

A forceful tale of illusive passion, 25-year-old Elsa lives in Buenos Aires, a city of unrest, unemployment and poverty. She struggles to make ends meet with temp work but longs to escape Argentina and move to Italy to find the young Italian man she met on vacation. With her friends, Elsa wanders the city looking for ways to make money. She starts an affair with Walter, who finds a way for her to travel to Europe. However, the Italy in her fantasy is a very different place than the reality.

Living and shooting in a country of depleting resources has made guerilla filmmakers like Gugliotta cunningly ingenious. This low-budget film shimmers with humor, pathos and invention aided by the streetwise, charismatic protagonist, Valentina Bassi.