Hope and Emotion with “The Pope´s Toilet”
(Santo Domingo, November 21, 2008).

Viewers of the film “The Pope´s Toilet” at the Mauricio Báez Club became aware of an entirely new concept of dreams as they observed the actions of the film´s protagonist, Beto, a poor man from the town of Melo, Uruguay.  The visit of Pope John Paul II to this town caused a stir among its inhabitants who hoped the visit would somehow become an opportunity to  lift them out of their poverty.

This moving story shows how the residents create and establish various food stands and other souvenirs for the expected 50,000 people who will be arriving to see the Pope. Beto, however, has the grandiose idea of building a public bathroom for the visitors. With the money he expects to make, he hopes to improve his life style and put an end to his contraband activity of transporting merchandise from the Brazilian border.

With picaresque and humorous touches, the plot develops around the problems and obstacles Beto faces in his efforts to build a toilet and confirms that everything in life requires a huge dose of effort and perseverance.  The main cast and crew of this feature film, Virginia Méndez, lead actress; Enrique Fernández, writer; Sergue, co-producer and Nelson Lense, actor, were present at the film´s screening.

“The Pope´s Toilet” has been shown at various film festivals and has won several awards including the Horizon Prize in San Sebastian, the Prize for the Best First Feature Film in Guadalajara, the Jury Prize for Best Picture in Sao Paulo and Best Script in Huelva.