unitednotions.film

About

Telling stories and creating experiences worth fighting for.

In 2007, Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw started unitednotions.film. They didn’t have a grand plan; they just wanted to create work that mattered. Their first film, Stolen, was about slavery in a UN-controlled refugee camp in the Sahara desert. They felt people needed to see it — not in an abstract way, but to really understand what it meant. After that, they made The Bolivian Case, exploring how media and justice systems can shape — and distort — reality in Norway. Then came Cocaine Prison, a film about the drug war and its effect on ordinary lives in Bolivia. Later, La Lucha followed people with disabilities in Bolivia fighting for pensions, turning the camera on the courage of those who rarely have a voice. Ultimately, people with disabilities won their pensions.


By 2021, they were making Prison X — something new, something no one was quite sure how to describe. It was the start of Neo-Andean futurism, a vision of the future rooted in the culture and aesthetics of the Andes. unitednotions.film doesn’t belong to any one genre; it’s not the kind of place where you’d say, “This is exactly what they do.” They take on stories as they come, letting each one find its own shape. Now they’re moving into what they call film futurism, bringing in game mechanics, AI, and immersive technologies. Projects like Prison X and Las Awichas aren’t just films; they’re experiences, almost like a conversation you’re having with the story itself.


With each project, unitednotions.film wants people not just to watch but to feel involved, to question things — identity, culture, climate, justice. They want you to think about the role you play in the world, about what it means to be part of a story that’s still unfolding.

unitednotions.film

JOURNEY


Our story began when Violeta and Dan first worked together and traveled to Mauritania in 2005. There, they made Between the Oil and the Deep Blue Sea, an investigative short documentary about corruption in the international oil industry.


Then, in 2009, they made the eye-opening feature documentary Stolen, which uncovered slavery in a UN-monitored refugee camp in the Sahara desert. Premiering at the Sydney Film Festival, Stolen ignited global controversy, screened at 80 festivals including Toronto, won 16 awards, and was aired on PBS. Human Rights Watch published a report in 2010 denouncing slavery in the camps.


In 2015 The Bolivian Case premiered at Hot Docs, questioning media racism in Norway. The film was nominated for Premios Platino and Fenix, distributed across Latin America to an audience of 625 million.


In 2016 they documented a protest by people with disabilities in Bolivia, resulting in The Fight, a short documentary, made for The Guardian. The Fight won multiple awards including a Walkley. The film contributed to the Bolivian government granting a monthly pension and labor inclusion for people with disabilities.


In 2017, Cocaine Prison, filmed over four years in a Bolivian jail, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It won the Audience Award at Cinelatino in Toulouse, aired on PBS WORLD Channel, and was picked up by Amazon Prime. The film ignited an amnesty for minor crimes, alleviating overcrowding in Bolivian prisons.


In 2021, Prison X - The Devil and the Sun, the first episode of our VR interactive animated series, premiered at Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews. It was selected for Cannes XR, Games For Change, Siggraph and shown in galleries from Paris to Santiago de Chile. Prison X is praised as a cornerstone of Neo-Andean futurism.


Following this, UNF launched KOA.xyz, a co-creator studio focused on spatial experiences, 3D character creation, AR/VR/XR, and AI.


In 2022, UNF was invited to create its first physical installation at Bolivia’s premium cultural center, El Martadero. Using AI, Violeta imagined her female ancestors, Awichas (Abuelas). The space featured eight large acrylic portraits in an installation reminiscent of the Cholo world. Las Awichas became part of the official collection at El Martadero.


In 2023, La Lucha, a feature film about the protest of people with disabilities, premiered at the BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia. It screened at SXSW Sydney and won the NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Directing at its New York premiere at the ReelAbilities and the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI).


In 2024, Las Awichas XR, a co-production with King’s College London (KCL) for GLOW, was showcased as part of a collection celebrating the contributions of women in creative technology.

The installation featured locations on The Strand as a street installation and at The Arcade Gallery as an extended indoor exhibit. It included an AR experience, tullmas woven by Bolivian artisans, and 3D printed animals.


In the same year, La Lucha premiered in Bolivia, mobilizing communities with powerful outreach campaigns organized by UNF. Screenings in central plazas showcased the film's impact, with sign language interpretation throughout. Thousands attended premieres in Cochabamba, La Paz, and Potosí.