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Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias Creates Post-Colonial Fable ‘Pepe,’ Taking on Pablo Escobar’s Infamous Zoo: ‘Imagination Isn’t Owned by Disney’


Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias talks fable ‘Pepe’ – and Berlinale main competition entry – inspired by Pablo Escobar’s infamous zoo and post-colonial discourse.

“Pepe” is produced by Monte & Culebra (Dominican Republic) and co-produced by 4 A 4 Productions (France), Pandora Film (Germany) and Joe’s Vision (Namibia). In the film – vying for Berlinale’s Golden Bear – Pepe admits wistfully: “My story could only be told when it became their story.” But De Los Santos Arias saw it as a chance to talk about post-colonialism, all the while trying to answer a pressing question: What does the hippo say? Pepe the philosophizing hippo might sound odd, but what he says is deeply political, stresses De Los Santos Arias.

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