Colombian Cinema Month - Participating Films and Talents

Colombian Cinema Month: Participating Films and Talents. | April will be the month to discover a series of national productions in commercial movie theaters, part of an emerging strategy aimed at connecting audiences with their own stories.

Distributors and exhibitors across the country have joined the initiative, along with renowned artists who will accompany some of the screenings and participate in other scheduled side events. Learn more about the selection details here:

Ambassadors

To promote this celebration, well-known actors Majida Issa and Juan Pablo Barragán will serve as ambassadors. “The Colombian Cinema Month is not only a celebration of our stories and talents on the big screen but also a space where the most representative voices of our industry come together to highlight the power of national cinema. In this edition, we have the presence of distinguished artists who have not only left an indelible mark on the productions that make up the official selection but are also spokespeople and ambassadors of this movement that reclaims Colombian-made cinema,” say representatives from TheGSeven, the distribution company leading this initiative.

Other talents joining the effort include Margarita Rosa de Francisco, Alejandra Borrero, Marlon Moreno, Angie Cepeda, Diego Cadavid, María del Rosario, Alejandro Aguilar, and Salvador del Solar. “Majida Issa and Juan Pablo Barragán, recognized for their versatility and commitment to national cinematography, not only shine in the films selected for this month but also join as official spokespeople for the Colombian Cinema Month, amplifying the message of this initiative that seeks to connect audiences with our stories.” (You might be interested in: A Celebration is Born: April Will Be Colombian Cinema Month).

Premiere Films

This will be an opportunity to see Colombian films making their national premiere during this event.

La Sombra del Juez (April 3)

La Sombra del Juez is the new feature film by Colombian filmmaker Libia Stella Gómez Díaz, a police thriller that transports viewers to a Colombian town in 1989. The plot follows David Gutiérrez (Juan Pablo Barragán), an idealistic judge who arrives with a mission to deliver justice but soon uncovers a dangerous web of corruption and hidden secrets that threaten not only his integrity but also his life.

Semilla del Desierto (April 10)

Premiered at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, this event described the film, directed by Sebastián Parra, as a coming-of-age story and a rusty steampunk tale that “emerges as a resilient road movie across the La Guajira Peninsula,” telling the story of Chelina and Caviche, two young people trapped in desperate circumstances who are forced to make a life-changing decision.

Facing the threat of a violent father and an unwanted pregnancy, they decide to terminate it, but to fund the procedure, they must venture into the dangerous world of gasoline smuggling. Thus begins a journey full of obstacles, where survival and maturity prevail in a hostile and unforgiving environment. (You might be interested in: "Semilla del Desierto,” Colombian Film at Tallinn Black Nights).

Astronauta (April 17)

Co-produced by Peru, Colombia, and Uruguay, Astronauta marks the directorial debut of Peruvian actor Paul Vega and closed the Punta del Este Film Festival. The film follows Nicolás, a 43-year-old TV presenter who seems to have it all: a successful career and a stable marriage with Claudia, a photographer. However, he feels trapped in monotony.

As he secretly begins writing a story, he meets a mysterious figure who prompts him to question his life with fantastical tales. While preparing to move into a new house with his wife, Nicolás confronts the distance between them and rediscovers his passion for writing, embarking on a journey toward authenticity and true happiness.

El Paraiso (April 24)

This film by Italian director Enrico María Artale marked the return to acting of Colombian actress Margarita Rosa de Francisco, who won the Best Actress award in the “Horizons” category at the Venice Film Festival.

El Paraiso is a feature film that follows Julio César, a man nearing forty who lives with his mother in a humble riverside home. Their life, marked by mutual complicity and dependence, revolves around precarious jobs for a drug trafficker and nights of salsa dancing. However, the arrival of Inés, a young Colombian woman starting as a cocaine “mule,” disrupts their fragile balance. Caught between desire and jealousy, Julio is forced to make extreme decisions that lead him on a painful and revealing journey to his roots, confronting the weight of his identity and past for the first time.

Artale has said that this film “is a love story between a mother and son, and a vivid tragedy that immerses its protagonists in the shifting nuances of their deepest emotions, in delicacy and violence.”

Re-Release Films

The Squad (March 27)

A few days before April, this event will actually kick off with the re-release of The Squad, one of the modern classics of Colombian horror cinema and the debut of the late Jaime Osorio Márquez (1975-2021). The film is set in a desolate moorland serving as a military base for soldiers who haven’t been heard from in days. Fearing they’ve fallen victim to an attack, a new squad is sent and finds a single, mysterious survivor upon arrival. Isolation, distance, and lack of communication with the outside world affect the soldiers’ sanity, sowing doubts about the true identity of the strange surviving being.

Osorio Márquez once commented about his feature film: “The existence of a single, discernible enemy in myths not only purges society of its sins but, through fear, creates a need for control and authority, and staunch conformity within the established system. In The Squad, it is precisely at this point where horror and guerrilla warfare converge, and it is also here that the myth becomes contemporary. As a genre film operating within some classic horror parameters, it seeks not only to provoke an immediate reaction in the viewer but also to invite reflection: Horror and guerrilla warfare are equivalent and transform into symbols of the fear and paranoia prevailing today.”

Gente de bien (April 1)

The debut feature by Franco Lolli, starring Alejandra Borrero, follows Eric, a 10-year-old boy sent to live with his father, a working-class carpenter, after his mother moves abroad. Though Eric initially feels out of place in this new environment, he gradually adjusts to life with his father. However, the social and economic disparities between them and the wealthy family his father works for create tensions that test their relationship.

Gente de bien is a social drama that portrays class tensions and family dynamics in Bogotá society with sensitivity and realism, adopting an intimate, naturalistic, and observational approach, featuring convincing performances by Carlos Fernando Pérez as the father and Brayan Santamaría as Eric.

El Bolero de Rubén (May 1)

The first Colombian musical premiered last year. Directed by Juan Carlos Mazo, El Bolero de Rubén tells the raw story of Marta (Majida Issa), a woman who had to abandon her dream of becoming a singer to live a life far from her aspirations alongside her husband Rubén (Marlon Moreno), a hitman whose underworld ties and a 15-year prison sentence fractured their relationship. Upon Rubén’s return to what remains of their home, Marta must confront her reality, refocus her life, break free, and pursue her dreams.

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