
The house
On the outskirts of Bogotá, a family survives by recycling the city's waste and raising animals. They dream of a home with running water and electricity, but family disputes threaten their only chance at progress.
The Mendez family has been living on occupied land in the hills outside Bogotá for 40 years, where they can be legally evicted at any time. Every day they walk down to the city to collect scrap materials to sell, and leftovers from restaurants to feed their pigs. Victor has been married to Marta for 10 years, but his mother, Elvira, has never approved of her. The conflict between these two women forces Victor to take sides, coming in the way of their efforts to earn a living. The threats that a neighbor makes to Victor give Elvira another reason to blame Marta for all of the family’s problems, but Sandra, their youngest daughter, will provide another chance to unite the family. Dignity and courage combine in a story about the impossibility of progress and the persistence of dreams for this family of scrap merchants.
TMDB
10.0/10
1 votes
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Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $15K
- Box office
- —
- Language
- Spanish
- recycling
- human rights
- family conflict
- eviction
- dignity
- bogota, colombia
- scrap merchant
- daily survival
- occupied land
Top billed cast
Behind the camera
Director
Videos
No extra videos are listed for this title yet.
Release dates
BrazilBR
- PremiereIt's All True18 Apr 2010
ColombiaCO
- PremiereMuestra Internacional Documental de Bogotá30 Sept 2009
- Theatrical (limited)Bogotá International Film Festival6 Oct 2009
- PremiereDocs Barcelona and Medellín17 Oct 2013
CyprusCY
- PremiereNicosia International Documentary Film Festival26 Mar 2010
EcuadorEC
- PremiereEDOC17 May 2010
GermanyDE
- PremiereLeipzig Film Festival Germany29 Oct 2009
- PremiereCine Latino Tübingen18 Apr 2010
- PremiereDOK.Fest München6 May 2010
GreeceGR
- PremiereThessaloniki Documentary Festival 16 Mar 2010
HungaryHU
- PremiereVerzio Film Festival4 Nov 2010
IcelandIS
- PremiereReykjavik International Film Festival27 Sept 2010
New CaledoniaNC
- PremiereFestival International du Cinema deus peuples2 Nov 2010
PolandPL
- PremiereKrawok Film Festival4 Jun 2010
SpainES
- PremiereDocs Barcelona5 Feb 2010
Frequently asked questions
The house was released on 6 October 2009.
Audience reviews
1- D10/10
domo.devenirfilms
10/29/2026
La Casa by Tayo Cortes Victor Mendez has lived with his mother on the outskirts of the Columbian capital of Bogotá for 40 years, in the middle of the forest but on illegal ground, in a makeshift wooden cabin. They could be driven out any time. Ever since his new wife, of whom his mother disapprovers strongly, has moven in, quarrels have dominated their daily life. It is strenuous making a living collecting garbage…
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