Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Locarno 2006

A former open-water swimming champion, Goyo, thirty-four, fled to the desert after being unjustly accused of using performance-enhancing drugs during the Santa Fe-Coronda Marathon in Argentina. Eight years later, when the Marathon comes round again, Goyo returns to the scene of his humiliation to attempt to regain his title and his honour. But just as he is about to start training, he is beset by anxieties that prevent him from putting in the necessary work. A fortuitous encounter with Chino, a twenty year-old fellow swimmer, will change the course of his life. Conscientious and stubborn, the latter is a top-level pool swimmer. He dreams of being selected for the national team but he too experiences a bruising setback in this regard. (...)Agua offers the human adventure of two men seeking to test their physical and psychological limits. Struggling with their weaknesses, fatigue and the water, filmed in absolutely spectacular manner, they must also confront their inner demons, their most deeply repressed fears. Trapped in the high demands they make on themselves, they struggle to communicate, to open up to the world around them, the one hoping to find refuge far away from water, rivers, and his earlier life, the other locking himself into a quest for performance at any cost. Playing with sound effects and contrasts (the distress of these men buried within their robust, strong bodies), lingering on details (hands caressing a shaved head, muscle tension), the filmmaker has a sharp yet tender eye for the distorted lives of these two men, whose friendship will perhaps finally help them achieve peace of mind. (Festival catalogue)