Memories of the Desert

Memories of the Desert (Romance Policial) is a 2014 Brazilian-Chilean crime drama film directed and written by Jorge Durán. It stars Daniel de Oliveira as a young Brazilian writer named Antonio, who decides to go to the Atacama Desert in search of inspiration for a tale. Daniela Ramírez and Álvaro Rudolphy co-star in supporting roles. The film was first screened on 9 March 2014 at the Miami International Film Festival, and was released theatrically in Brazil on 4 June 2015.

Plot
Antonio is a 30-year-old civil servant living in Rio de Janeiro, with a penchant for writing, who travels to the Atacama Desert in search of inspiration to write a novel. The arid and astonishing landscape leaves him in awe. One day, Antonio, hiking through the desert, hears suspicious noises and finds a dead man (whom he had met earlier in a bar). He is detained by Martínez, a local police officer, who forbids him to leave Chile or the village of San Pedro de Atacama, where he stays. Antonio also meets Florencia, a local bar-owner, with whom he develops a romantic relationship. The crime situation and his ongoing romance with Florencia help him write his tale and get mixed in it.

Cast

 * Daniel de Oliveira as Antonio
 * Daniela Ramírez as Florencia
 * Álvaro Rudolphy as Martínez
 * Roxana Campos as Miriam
 * Rogério Fróes as The Old Writer
 * Nelson Polania as El Hombre (as Nelson Polanco)
 * Victor Montero as Romo
 * María Izquierdo as Florencia's Mother

Awards and nominations

 * Best Film – Bogotá Film Festival (nominated)
 * The Knight Competition – Miami International Film Festival (nominated)