In November 2021, just one week into filming “Yana-Wara” in the Peruvian Andes, tragedy struck. The film’s director, Óscar Catacora, died due to health complications. But his uncle Tito Catacora, who was a producer on the film and had collaborated with his nephew on two previous movies — including “Wiñaypacha,” Peru’s Oscar entry in 2019 — stepped in to finish “Yana-Wara.”

Now, three years later, the completed film is Peru’s submission for International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards. As part of TheWrap Screening Series, Tito Catacora spoke with us about the film, a black-and-white drama in the Aymara language about a 13-year-old girl, Yana-Wara, from a small indigenous community in Conduriri, El Collao, Puno, Peru. Her story was inspired by a young person Óscar and Tito Catacora had encountered in real life.

Luz Diana Mamami in “Yana-Wara” (Cine Aymara Studios)

“We live in an Andean area where we saw this girl who was … being abused.