Annar Verold

Retratos en un mar de mentiras (Portrait in a sea of lies) is an alluring and well-written narrative and reflection of the modern day Colombian society. As many people displaced by the Colombian Civil War, which began in 1964, Marina’s childhood trauma is attributed to the losses she experienced because of the political conflict. As a result of the prolonged civil clash, Colombian has experienced at least several hundreds of thousands of deaths, and at least 4 million people have been displaced from their homes.

Screenwriter and director, Carlos Garivia, tells the story of Marina, a haunted young woman on a quest to reclaim her family’s land with her freelance photographer cousin, Jairo. The film begins with rainy days in Bogota, Colombia, which brings attention the run-down, dangerous, mudslide territory which Marina and her grandfather dwell in. Once unveiling the abusive relationship between Marina and her drunken grandfather, the beginning unfolds into a huge freak accident. This resulted in a torrential mudslide that splits their fragile home in half and slides off of the cliff, grandfather and all.

Upon the funeral, the audience falls witness to the series of abuse experienced by the unspoken and naive Marina. Pushing the buttons of her employer and what seemingly appears to be her new guardian/a relative, she is demanded to be taken back to claim her old land and be ridded of with her cousin. The following morning, in an old Renault 4 vehicle, Jairo and Marina set off on a road-trip home.

Throughout the film, their are split fragments of Marina’s haunting past and a series of her encounters with the dead. She can clearly identify the dead, occasionally viewing her grandfather, people from her childhood community that were killed by the war, and towards the end, her massacred family. In addition, certain experiences trigger her traumatic past, resulting in her dramatic reactions to soldiers and her distant way of being.

Marina and Jairo experience a guerrilla on their drive along the coast. During this scene, the audience begin to get a general idea of what originally happened to Marina, and demonstrating the compassion both characters have towards each other. Upon arriving to Marina’s hometown, Jairo unknowingly befriends a group of paramilitaries who later kidnap them in search of the land deed. The struggle the two undergo eventually exemplifies a sincere compassion and understanding Marina and Jairo have towards each other.

Paola Baldion’s role as Marina is a captivating and emotive performance. Capturing the terrified and haunting essence of Marina– primarily in silence, a few lines, and a horrified look in her eyes– Baldion managed to convince the audience of the true heartache and confliction witnessed by her character. The entire film builds up to one scene in particular, when Marina has to face the origin of her horrors alone, in order to save Jairo. The moment when Marina is screaming and absolute terror is utterly bone chilling and undeniably convincing; Baldion’s performance is flawless. All while, Julian Roman’s character, Jairo, is convincingly annoying, yet embarrassingly charming throughout the course of the film. By the end of Retratos en un mar de mentiras, both main characters manage to enthrall and engage the audience through their journey.

Retratos en un mar de mentiras not only narrates the life of one scarred and lonely girl, but speaks of an entire country’s sufferings. Yet, with the beautiful scenery and brief moments of comic relief, the Colombian people are illustrated as graceful, strong, and beautiful people.

Watch the trailer for Retratos en un mar de menitras below:

This film was reviewed at the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival. Cine Las Americas is a multi-cultural, 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Austin Texas. The mission of Cine Las Americas is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging diverse audiences through film and media arts.

No Meio do Rio Entre as Árvores (Within the River Among the Trees) creatively document the values and way of life of these communities in a world where everything is quickly modernizing, and a land that has been exploited for economic exploration. Jorge Bodanzky, director of hundreds of documentaries and other films such as Iracema, Uma Transa Amazônica, O Terceiro Milênio, and Igreja dos Oprimi, magically captures the richness of Ayuca community, located within the Amazon Basin. Among the 16.4 million acres of protected rainforest, there are 35 communities attempting to preserve their way of life, people, and their richness of their culture.

The most valuable aspects of the documentary was the intimate way it captured a community. The film was documented in a way different from most documentaries; instead of the film being narrated or guided by captions, the indigenous people of the Amazon guided the documentary. At the beginning for the film, the cinematographer expressed his purpose there, stating that he had sincere motives and simply wants to capture whatever the community wants to express. Brainstorming for ideas, a reoccurring theme in the community was their value of connectedness, unity, and community. Captured was a beautiful and unseen way of life; bathing in the river, children playing together, mothers helping each other, men fishing together.

It was expressed that the community’s source of income was primarily making and selling flour, only using a very small portion for their own needs. Despite being protected by laws, the audience witnesses the struggle for the indigenous people to keep out teams of fishermen and people taking advantage of their natural resources. The indigenous repeatedly mentioned how the laws protecting the indigenous and the land are loosely enforced. Repeatedly, the need for education is expressed. The indigenous understand that prosperity will be found in educating their children, so that they can intelligently defend and support the rest of the community. Unfortunately, higher education must be sought out in the city, and children pursuing academia must leave their homes, some of which end up simply settling with the rest of society and do not return. Expenses for studying in the city are relatively high in comparison to the very little money the indigenous make. Regardless, the Maya descendants understand that education is the only way to salvage their way of life.

Ultimately, the film entailed what the indigenous people of the Amazon wanted to showcase. Some of the documentary was actually footage taken by curious adolescents exploring the functions of the camera, or a elderly woman zooming into the stirring of the flour. The essence of the film brilliantly showcases the innocent culture and way of life of some of the most isolated communities the world has to offer.

Watch the trailer for No Meio do Rio Entre as Árvores below:

This film was reviewed at the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival. Cine Las Americas is a multi-cultural, 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Austin Texas. The mission of Cine Las Americas is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging diverse audiences through film and media arts.

Exuding in uniqueness, and fueling an unsatisfiable curiosity, Pueblos Hermanos (Brother Towns), produced by Charles D. Thompson Jr. and filmed by Michael Davey,  demonstrates a fresh perspective of immigration in the United States. Documenting the relationship between two towns linked by immigration, the audience witnesses the connections and struggle of immigrants from the perspective of Maya town, Jacaltenango in Guatemala, and it’s sister town, Jupiter, Florida. Archiving the various reasons why the Jacaltecos are migrating to the United States, Pueblos Hermanos gives an intimate perspective that resonates with empathy and understanding. An increasingly controversial issue, the documentary also captures the complexities of immigration from both ends of the spectrum; witnessing supporters and opponents of the on-going topic.

The immigration to Jupiter began in the traditional concept of immigration; people seeking a better life. As the opportunity for landscaping and construction work grew in Jupiter during the 1980’s, Guatemalans in search for prosperity began to settle in the town. Naturally, the Latino population began to grow as these workers shared the news of opportunity back to their hometown, and so on and so forth. Eventually, Jupiter had to acknowledge the drastic increase in immigrants and respond to community complaints, though unverified, of the new population’s noise, littering, and threat to traffic. The clever result, established in 2006, was Jupiter’s El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center. The community worked closely and cooperated to handle the situation with grace and optimism. The outstanding part of this film isn’t even quite the cinematography, but being a witness to the simple beauty captured by the film; an entire city focused on helping one another in a safe, efficient and caring way, for the sake of everyone, regardless of race or color.

Pueblos Hermanos is not narrated like most films, the narration is a series of interviews and is guided by the brief discussions by an immigrant, Filomeno Raymundo Diaz. The cinematography captures the images of both worlds– contrasting them, yet showing them alike. The most beautiful aspect of the film was the concept of humanity showcased throughout the film. The audience has the opportunity to understand more humble reasons towards the migrations– that people are not just leaving because they “want to steal jobs” or for selfish reasons or ulterior motives, but for the sake of survival. The people from Jacaltenango, Guatemala are experience an immense poverty, one that cannot be pacified by only the production of the land or by any other local resource; their greatest opportunity for saving their people is by leaving. Unfortunately, in the United States, we see the day laborers, yet we do not witness the struggle and the suffering of immigrants leaving their mothers and fathers and children and wives behind; we do not witness these workers sending money back home, or investing in water wells or new concrete slabbed homes; we do not see an immigrant’s modest attempts to better the world of the people back home. That is the brilliant thing about Pueblos Hermanos, it unveils an honest perspective that denounces anyone who opposes immigration, despite letting them use their voice. Pueblos Hermanos simply showcases the honesty of two communities helping each other survive.

Watch the trailer for Pueblos Hermanos below:

This film was reviewed at the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival. Cine Las Americas is a multi-cultural, 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Austin Texas. The mission of Cine Las Americas is to promote cross-cultural understanding and growth by educating, entertaining and challenging diverse audiences through film and media arts.