Esperanza ("Hope" in Spanish, played by Tania Martinez) is a Spanish tourist looking for exotic adventure who meets Tristeza (meaning "Sadness," portrayed by Cecilia Vallejo, a cynical Ecuadorian student, when a bus strike strands them in the middle of nowhere. Their journey really begins when they decide to join up to hitchhike their way to the Andean village of Cuenca. Along the way the meet a tall, scrawny man carrying the ashes of his recently deceased grandmother. In a nearly desolate landscape, the three continue together in what becomes a journey of friendship and self-discovery. Director/Screenwriter Tania Hermida constructs encounters with a lovely sense of detail, whether they involve a little girl offering directions or simply the three sitting quietly on the beach. And Ecuardor -- in all of its sun-splashed beauty and vast solitude -- becomes the fourth character in this humorous, gentle and observant tale.
| Directed by | Tania Hermida |
| Written by | Tania Hermida |
| Original title | Qué tan lejos |
| Original lang. | Spanish |
| Country | Ecuador |