Runa Simi

The Peruvian single father Fernando dreams of dubbing The Lion King into Quechua, South America’s largest indigenous language. It turns out that’s easier said than done.

The consequences of colonialism are far-reaching, and in Fernando’s community in Cusco in the Andes, there are people who have never seen a film they could understand, and children who have never seen a film in their own mother tongue. 10 million people speak Quechua in South America, but there are no films dubbed into the language. Runa Simi shows how closely language and identity are intertwined.

Together with his son Dylan, Fernando tackles the seemingly impossible task of getting Disney to speak – and in the meantime, they begin casting and rehearsing with the voice actors. The result is a warm, beautiful and moving journey into one man’s fight to preserve an indigenous language and culture.

The screening March 7 will be introduced by Peru’s Ambassador to Norway, Rolando Ruiz Rosas.