Why 'The Goalkeeper' Director Moved From California Back to Bolivia

Gory Patiño earned a scholarship to study film at Chapman University and was living the dream of being a filmmaker in Los Angeles. But after receiving some advice to take his talents back to his home in Bolivia, his film “The Goalkeeper” — which he made upon returning — is now the country’s official submission for the 2019 Foreign Language Oscar race.

The Bolivian born Patiño had been living in America for 12 years, earning the Fulbright scholarship at Chapman and then working as a teacher and equipment manager at the New York Film Academy, making shorts, writing scripts and acting in other films along the way. But after being frustrated with a lack of results, a fellow producer suggested that to get his feet wet in the industry and develop as a filmmaker, he could have better luck getting his projects made in his home country of Bolivia.

Since then, he’s released “The Goalkeeper” and has already shot his follow-up feature. And now that he’s made it back to Hollywood, Patiño knows he made the right choice to return.

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“It’s a change of plans,” Patiño told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman Thursday night as part of TheWrap’s Awards and Foreign Screening Series at the Landmark Theatres in Los Angeles. “Filmmaking takes you to different parts, and that’s the beauty of it.”

"Muralla" screening and Q&A with with director Gory Patino.

Ted Soqui

His film “The Goalkeeper,” also called “Muralla” (translated to “brick wall”) in its native language, marries an American thriller sensibility with a story that’s specific to Bolivia. It tells the story of a former star soccer goalie who now works as a taxi driver. Strapped for cash and desperate to pay his ailing son’s medical bills, he turns to a life of crime, tapping into Bolivia’s sinister human trafficking network.

Patiño says that human trafficking now brings in more money than drug trafficking in Bolivia, with children being taken into Peru, Argentina and elsewhere and sold into prostitution or as drug mules. He added that a quote recited in the movie, that eight minors disappear every day in the country as part of the criminal activity, is depressingly accurate.

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“This is not only a cancer that happens in Bolivia. It’s a global thing,” Patiño said. “They kidnap young girls and young boys and take them out of the borders. So our borders are not controlled enough, and a lot of the police are involved in this crime, so the situation is getting out of hand.”

In fact, the human trafficking ring is such a fertile area for storytelling, Patiño is also in the works on a Bolivian TV series centered around the subject. And even though “The Goalkeeper” was released first, the film’s protagonist originated as a character spun off from the series, with both projects being shot concurrently.

The box office success of “The Goalkeeper” back in Bolivia, as well as its selection for the Oscars race, has earned him additional funding from the government for his next project, but Patiño still has an English-language thriller script in his back pocket and would love to one day take his talents back to Hollywood.

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“I still want to tell stories from where I’m from because Bolivia still has a lot of stories that are needed to be told, but if I have a chance elsewhere, I’ll do it too,” Patiño said. “The searching I have is to look for my voice. A filmmaker’s voice is really important, so I think I’m in the process of doing it. The more I write, the more I direct, the more I will find my inner voice.”

Golden Globes 2019: See the Nominees (Photos)

Here is the full list of nominees in the 76th Annual Golden Globes for 2019 in all 25 categories. The awards will be handed out on Jan. 6.
20th Century Fox/Amazon/Disney/FX
Best Motion Picture - Drama

"Black Panther"
“BlacKkKlansman”;
“Bohemian Rhapsody”;
“If Beale Street Could Talk”;
“A Star Is Born” (pictured)
Warner Bros.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born,”;
Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”;
Lucas Hedges, "Boy Erased"
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” (pictured);
John David Washington, "BlacKkKlansman"
20th Century Fox
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”;
Glenn Close, “The Wife” (pictured);
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”;
Nicole Kidman, “Destroyer”
Rosamund Pike, "A Private War"
Sony Pictures Classics
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

“Crazy Rich Asians” (pictured);
“The Favourite”;
“Green Book”;
“Mary Poppins Returns”;
“Vice”
Warner Bros.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book” (pictured);
Christian Bale, “Vice”;
Robert Redford, “The Old Man and the Gun”;
Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Mary Poppins Returns”;
John C. Reilly, “Stan and Ollie”;
Universal
Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Emily Blunt, “Mary Poppins Returns” (pictured)
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”;
Elsie Fisher, “Eighth Grade”;
Charlize Theron, "Tully"
Constance Wu, “Crazy Rich Asians”;
Disney
Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”;
Timothee Chalamet, “Beautiful Boy” (pictured);
Adam Driver, "BlacKkKlansman"
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”;
Sam Rockwell, “Vice”
Amazon
Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, “Vice”;
Claire Foy, "First Man";
Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”;
Emma Stone, “The Favourite” (pictured);
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”;
Fox Searchlight
Best Director

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”;
Alfonso Cuaron, “Roma”;
Peter Farrelly, "Green Book";
Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” (pictured);
Adam McKay, "Vice"
Photographed by Tyler Mitchell for TheWrap
Best Screenplay

“The Favourite”;
“Green Book”;
“If Beale Street Could Talk” (pictured)
"Roma";
"Vice"
Tatum Mangus/Annapurna Pictures
Best Original Score

"A Quiet Place," Marco Beltrami;
"Isle of Dogs," Alexandre Desplat;
“Black Panther," Ludvig Goransson;
“First Man” Justin Hurwitz; (pictured)
“Mary Poppins Returns," Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
TheWrap
Best Original Song

“All the Stars” from “Black Panther”;
“The Girl in the Movies” from “Dumplin'”;
“Requiem for A Private War” from “A Private War”;
"Revelation" from "Boy Erased"
“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” (pictured)
Warner Bros.
Best Motion Picture - Animated

“Incredibles 2” (pictured);
“Isle of Dogs”;
"Mirai";
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”;
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
Pixar
Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language

“Capernaum”;
“Girl”;
"Never Look Away"
“Roma” (pictured)
"Shoplifters"
Netflix
Best Television Series - Drama

“The Americans” (pictured);
“The Bodyguard"
“Homecoming”;
“Killing Eve”;
“Pose"
FX
Best Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, "Ozark" (pictured);
Stephan James, "Homecoming";
Richard Madden, "The Bodyguard";
Billy Porter, " "Pose";
Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”;
Paramount Network
Best Actress in a Drama Series

Caitriona Balfe, "Outlander"
Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale"
Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”;
Julia Roberts, “Homecoming” (pictured);
Keri Russell, “The Americans”;
Amazon
Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (pictured);
“Barry”;
“The Good Place”;
"Kidding";
“The Kominsky Method”
Amazon
Best Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Kristen Bell, “The Good Place” (pictured);
Candace Bergen, "Murphy Brown"
Alison Brie, “GLOW”;
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”;
Debra Messing, "Will & Grace"
NBC
Best Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy

Sacha Baron Cohen, "Who Is America";
Jim Carrey, “Kidding”;
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”;
Donald Glover, “Atlanta”;
Bill Hader, “Barry” (pictured)
HBO
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

"The Alienist"
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (pictured);
"Escape at Dannemora"
“Sharp Objects”;
“A Very English Scandal”
Ray Mickshaw/FX
Best Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie

Antonio Banderas – “Genius: Picasso”
Daniel Bruhl – “The Alienist”
Darren Criss – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
Benedict Cumberbatch – “Patrick Melrose”; (pictured)
Hugh Grant – “A Very English Scandal”
Ollie Upton/SHOWTIME
Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie

Amy Adams, “Sharp Objects” (pictured);
Patricia Arquette, “Escape at Dannemora”;
Connie Britton, "Dirty John";
Laura Dern, “The Tale”;
Regina King, “Seven Seconds”;
HBO
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Movie Made for Television

Alan Arkin, “The Kominsky Method”;
Kieran Culkin, "Succession";
Edgar Ramirez, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”;
Ben Whishaw, “A Very English Scandal”;
Henry Winkler, “Barry” (pictured)
Amazon
Best Supporting Actress Series, Limited Series or Movie Made for Television

Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”;
Patricia Clarkson, “Sharp Objects”;
Penelope Cruz, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”;
Thandie Newton, “Westworld” (pictured);
Yvonne Strahovski, "The Handmaid's Tale"
HBO