Loteria De Navidad

The Christmas Lottery

Every night at 10pm Justino gets ready for work. Its cold outside so he pulls on his hat, scarf and gloves and travels on the bus to start his job as a warehouse security guard in the mannequin factory.

The nights are long and lonely, to keep himself amused Justino 'makes friends' with the mannequins. He begins to leave them in amusing positions for his colleagues to discover when they return to work in the morning.  

As the weeks go by Justino's mannequins become very popular, even the cleaner begins to enjoy them - meanwhile, his coworkers have begun to sign up for a lottery syndicate. Sadly Justino missed the signing in sheet.

He finds out the news of his colleagues windfall on his way to work on the bus, resigned to his fate, that he will be a security guard forever!  Or will he? 

When watching the film you could stop and ask questions at various points. 

• Do you think Justino likes his job?
• Do you think he lives on his own? How does he feel? 
• Why does the director continuously show us the alarm clock at 22:00
• What do his co workers think about the mannequins? Do they all feel the same?
• Which of his co workers is the boss? (any clues?) 
• Who do you think put Justino's name on the list?

Writing opportunities

A tear jerker! Make sure you
have your tissues at the ready!

• Write Justino's diary/journal - maybe he shares his innermost thoughts here - about his loneliness and what he would like to do with his life instead. 
• Write an email between colleagues talking about Justino. 
• Rewrite the film as a narrative in the 3rd person.  Focus on setting description. Focus on feelings. 
• Rewrite the ending - perhaps they reveal the win in a different way? 

The moral of the story?
"You reap what you sow!"