Impakter
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Culture Entertainment Art

Colombia Week: Chronicle of a Colombian Movie

byMatilde de los Milagros Londoño
May 24, 2016
in Art, Cinema, Culture, Photography
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

When The Embrace of the Serpent was nominated for an Oscar many of us, Colombians, were proud before even watching the movie. We felt represented. Words of encouragement and admiration were directed from all angles at director Ciro Guerra for such an important achievement. I couldn´t wait for the movie to get to New York´s theaters; I had seen the trailer and I was craving the black and white beauty of the Amazon that had already been recognized with an Art Cinema Award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Very soon into the movie I felt uneasy. The world of The Embrace of the Serpent was foreign to me. I didn´t recognize myself, or my culture, in a single trait of what I was seeing and I was ashamed. As hard as I tried I couldn´t remember being taught about the tribes of the Amazon. I knew nothing about the subtlety of their language or the poetry of their beliefs and I had no recollection of the cruel details that surround their history. As the movie unfolded I tried to concentrate on the strength of the images and dialogue but all they awoke in me was disbelief: How was it possible that I knew nothing about this part of Colombian history? How could it be that I was seeing, for the first time, the story of one of the places that makes my country so special? Something as primordial as the history of our indigenous people was not part of my basic education.


Related article: “BEHIND THE LENS WITH MSP FILMS” 


The scenes about the rubber massacre shocked me with trees that bled a white liquid for which indigenous people were tortured and murdered. I felt grief when I saw the scenes of the violent and cruel religious colonization that robbed them of their faith. I thought of the frivolity that hides behind our sense of pride; we phrase our luck for having the “lungs of the world” within our territory and we feel joy for having a Colombian movie nominated at the Oscars, but we cannot take ownership of what we don´t know. The Embrace of the Serpent did not represent me as a Colombian because the Amazon and the people that have suffered there have never been a part of my reality. I don´t deserve credit as a Colombian for the good things that come from the Amazon because, until now, I had been ignorant and indifferent about its history and reality.

Ciro Guerra

In the photo: Ciro Guerra – Film Director – Photo credit: Juan Mauricio Pineros

Ciro Guerra´s movie is a magical invitation into a world that I was missing out on. The depth and magic of the dialogue made me feel sorry for all of the Colombians who, like me, were not influenced by the indigenous culture. Perhaps we would dream different and feel different if we had been taught about indigenous beliefs. Maybe we would have a special, better, relationship with our nature. Maybe we would care more deeply for our country and for our people if we knew the kind of hardship indigenous communities endure. Perhaps we would be better human beings.


For a full mindmap behind this article with articles, videos, and documents see #ColombiaDay


Embrace-of-the-Serpent-2_0

I am grateful to Ciro Guerra for representing the Indigenous communities of the Amazon because their history deserves awareness and recognition. I am thankful because his movie removed my attention from the drug related issues of our country and focused it into a matter that is just as important. Beyond the visual value of this film lies a story that makes us curious about our roots. We, Colombians, should listen to one of the indigenous characters when he says “Never forget who you are and where you come from. Don´t let your song die.”


Recommended reading: “THE BEAUTIFUL AND BIZARRE MEMORY LABS OF COLOMBIA” 


_ _

EDITOR’S NOTE: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE  BY IMPAKTER.COM COLUMNISTS ARE THEIR OWN, NOT THOSE OF IMPAKTER.COM.
Tags: AmazonCannes Film FestivalCiro GuerraColombiafilmImpakterIndigenousThe Embrace of the Serpentthingser
Previous Post

SDG 1: The Goal to Spare Future Generations From the Scourge of Poverty

Next Post

IMPAKTER ESSAY: Vaccination, Medical Tourism, and the Expansion of Global Bioethics

Matilde de los Milagros Londoño

Matilde de los Milagros Londoño

Matilde moved from Colombia to New York City to continue studying literature and creative writing. After graduating from The New School she has been working at TED and collaborating as a literary editor for The Brooklyn Rail and Bookmate. She is mostly interested in philosophy, nature, theatre and the written word.

Related Posts

Sentimental value
Cinema

Review of ‘Sentimental Value,’ Cannes’ Direct-Democracy Winner

June 5, 2025
Cannes 2025
Culture

On Screen and Behind the Scenes: Sustainability at Cannes 2025

June 2, 2025
freediving
Society

What Freediving Can Teach Us About Training With Compassion

May 14, 2025
Next Post
IMPAKTER ESSAY: Vaccination, Medical Tourism, and the Expansion of Global Bioethics

IMPAKTER ESSAY: Vaccination, Medical Tourism, and the Expansion of Global Bioethics

Please login to join discussion

Recent News

fashion Sustainability

Fashion Giants and Sustainability: 5 Brands Reshaping the Industry

June 13, 2025
ESG news regarding rise in oil prices and fall of stock market after Israel strikes Iran, 241 billion euros to be spent on nuclear projects in the EU, first fishery solar project in Taiwan, fashion industry greenwashing

Gold and Oil Up, Stocks Down After Israel Strikes Iran

June 13, 2025
BlackRock on Trial: The Antitrust Showdown That Could Redefine ESG Investing

BlackRock on Trial: The Antitrust Showdown That Could Redefine ESG Investing

June 13, 2025

Impakter informs you through the ESG news site and empowers your business CSRD compliance and ESG compliance with its Klimado SaaS ESG assessment tool marketplace that can be found on: www.klimado.com

Registered Office Address

Klimado GmbH
Niddastrasse 63,

60329, Frankfurt am Main, Germany


IMPAKTER is a Klimado GmbH website

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

By Audience

  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & MACHINE LEARNING
    • Green Tech
  • ENVIRONMENT
    • Biodiversity
    • Energy
    • Circular Economy
    • Climate Change
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
    • Editorial Series

ESG/Finance Daily

  • ESG News
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Business

Klimado Platform

  • Klimado ESG Tool
  • Impakter News

About Us

  • Team
  • Global Leaders
  • Partners
  • Write for Impakter
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2025 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy

© 2024 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.