Mixtape La Pampa

In his first life, William Henry Hudson, the son of poor North American immigrants, roamed the Argentinian pampas as a gaucho, studying the flora and fauna. For his second life, he left for England in 1874 to become a writer. He wrote short stories, novellas, travel books, memoirs, essays and books about nature. Two years before his death in 1922, he published an extensive catalog of birds from his native land. But why did he never return? And why did Hudson write so obsessively and longingly about his first life?

In search of answers, film director Andrés Di Tella follows in Hudson’s Argentinian footsteps. Along the way he meets people who share his fascination for the enigmatic writer. In an associative montage of interviews, travel stories and found footage, he incorporates personal reflections that reveal a deeply felt affinity with Hudson. From being a historical figure, Hudson becomes a lens through which Di Tella takes a different view of his own country and personal history.