Synopsis
Crocodile-men, a mystic river, some kids who like fishing and a war that is coming to an end, share the same Colombian land: Bojaya. In this place, villagers have strange beliefs and celebrate the “Novenario” death ritual. This might be the beginning of a very long story, where spirits and humans meet each other to learn what is there to life after the end of war.
A word from Tënk
Organic and mystical, this second short film by Juanita Onzaga documents the stigma and memory of the village of Bojaya, where a tragic and bloody episode of the conflict between guerrilla and paramilitary forces played out in the Colombian jungle.
Following her first film, The Jungle Knows You Better Than You Do, the filmmaker pursues her sensualist and instinctive process of exploration through the complex history and territory of Colombia. Somewhere between contemplation and immersion, the director’s spiritual vision gathers and transcends the personal stories of children who’ve grown up among the ruins and the cultural rites that define their community.
On the very edge separating the visible from the magical, the funeral chants of the Novena find a symbolic incarnation in the dark, inhabited river leading to the village. Listening closely, we gradually discover an opening to a personal and literal understanding of life―and survival―after death.
Terence Chotard
Filmmaker
