My name is Ricardo. For 24 years, I’ve struggled to pronounce the letter R, a challenge that has led me to suppress my own voice. This documentary essay is an intimate journey in search of the identity of my voice and the effort to set it free, mirrored in my return to my parents’ home.
The Broken R unfolds as a journey where the concept of voice becomes intertwined with that of identity. It explores questions of invisibility, the late emergence of the voice, and the complexity of self-construction shaped by disability and dissident sexuality.
Ricardo Ruales Eguiguren was born in Quito, Ecuador. He holds a Master’s degree in Filmmaking Creation from Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE), San Sebastián Film School.
His short documentaries The Silence of Time (2014) and The Tern’s Crossing (2022) have participated in several film festivals around the world. Since 2017, he has been a member of INCUBADORA S.A. The Broken R is his first feature documentary, premiered at Sheffield DocFest, EDOC, FIDBA, and IDFA.
The Broken R (2025), The Tern's Crossing (2022), The Silence of Time (2014)