Chicago, la última cuadra
(Chicago, the last block)
Chicago, the last block (2025)
Project in Production
Mourning my mother’s death, I return to my childhood home in the struggling neighbourhood of Chicago, Peru. The humble adobe house of my grandparents, in which our family lived through both happy and tragic times, is on the verge of falling apart. Fragmented memories that highlight the fragility of a moment, and the unpredictable twists of fate. This is where my mother grew up. Where she fell in love. The place she left behind to build a life in Germany. The house where she returned to die.
Transforming Chicago into a cinematic playground, I follow the archive my parents left behind, like breadcrumbs in a ‘Hänsel und Gretel’ tale of motherhood and migration. Then one night, while sleeping in the crumbling house, I conjure my mother’s spirit.
Sustained in a narration where echoes from the past and yearnings of the present seem to merge, Chicago, the last block invites us to preserve the beauty of memories that insist on disappearing, and inspires a profound exploration of love, loss, and the longing for home.
Directed by Karoline Pelikan
Production: María Eugenia Lombardi, Karoline Pelikan
Assistant Director: Carmen Vásquez
Production Assistants: Tamara Sánchez
Editing: Sofía Velázquez, Karoline Pelikan
Script Consulting: Sofía Velázquez, Nic Guttridge
Sound: Willy Illizarbe
Photography: Martín Rebaza, Davis Pérez Rodríguez
Art and Design: Elva Arrieta
Archive Footage: Alfred Pelikan, Gladys Pelikan
Grants & Awards
2022 – Ministry of Peru, DAFO Development Fund
2023 – Conecta Chile, Market-Selection, Winner of the Sheffield DocFest award
2023 – Whickers Pitch, Bursary Fund – Latin America