History of Colombian Cinema
Like many Central American countries, cinema arrived very early in Colombia's history. As early as 1897, the first screenings of the Lumière brothers' cinematograph took place in Bogotá and Colón, while Edison's representatives distributed vitascopes and kinetoscopes throughout the country. The tumultuous turn of the century, marked by the Thousand Days' War, brought the nascent national production to a halt. Production picked up again in the 1910s, when cinemas flourished. In Bogotá, the Teatro Olympia - now demolished - was inaugurated in 1912, a huge 5,000-seat theatre. In the early 1920s, filmmakers Alfredo del Diestro and Máximo Calvo Olmedo produced Colombia's first feature-length fiction film, soberly titled María (1922), ushering in a period of prosperity for Colombian production. The arrival of talking pictures, and increased competition from Mexican and Hollywood productions, complicated the industry's situation in the decades that followed, despite repeated attempts to revive the national studios. It was not until the early 2000s that Colombian cinema began to recover, thanks to structured and effective state support. Nevertheless, a number of twentieth-century films stand out, including La langouste bleue (1954), co-written by Gabriel García Márquez and Enrique Grau, the Cannes award-winning documentary Notre voix de terre, mémoire et futur by Jorge Silva and Marta Rodriguez (1982), and Victor Cabrera's La stratégie de l'escargot (1993). These works depict the reality of Colombian society in their day.
Today, a new generation of filmmakers is giving Colombian cinema its letters of nobility. Ciro Guerra's Embrace of the Serpent (2015), inspired by indigenous shamanism, takes you into the dense forests of the departments of Guainía and Vaupés, before ending on the Cerros de Mavecure. Collaborating this time with Colombian producer Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra has directed The Birds of Passage, in 2019. A veritable social and historical fresco of the country, this infinitely beautiful film plunges us into a community of indigenous Wayuu caught up in drug trafficking. Documentary filmmaker Catalina Mesa's L'envol infini des jours (2014) reveals the thousand facets of the town of Jericó, a luminous vision of her childhood village, protected from the wars and troubles that have marked the country's history. Finally, Alejandro Landes delivers Monos (2019), a dystopia with the air of a dark teenage movie , shot in the heart of the Chingaza National Natural Park. Proof that Colombian cinema has a bright future ahead of it.
Colombia, star of the international cinema
Beyond national productions, Colombia has inspired many filmmakers, the most iconoclastic of whom is undoubtedly Italian director Ruggero Deodato, author of the terrifying Cannibal Holocaust (1980). Censored in several countries, the film recounts the misadventures of a film crew in search of cannibalistic tribes, and the discoveries that rescue workers make as they try to track down the missing crew. A monument to horror and gore cinema, but not for the faint-hearted. For those just getting into the film, you'll no doubt recognize the small town of Leticia, base camp for the rescue team sent by the American government.
Equally intriguing, but less difficult to savor, is Roland Joffé's The Mission (1986), which pits Robert de Niro, Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson against each other in an anti-slavery tale filmed between Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia. You can follow in the footsteps of these actors in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in northern Colombia.
A region that also played host to James Gray's The Lost City of Z (2016), starring Charlie Hunnam, Edward Pattinson and Tom Holland. A great adventure film tinged with mystery, based on the true story of Englishman Percival Fawcett, who disappeared in the 1920s while searching for this mythical city in the heart of the Colombian forest.
More recently, Colombia was the setting for the impressive film Memoria, Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (2021), starring Tilda Swinton at the top of her game. Shot between Bogotá and Pijao, the film takes you on a journey through the Colombian countryside as Tilda Swinton wanders in search of a sound only she can hear. A masterpiece of contemplative cinema flirting with the metaphysical. Between noise and silence, far from being metaphorical here, discover El olvido que seremos (2021), the adaptation of Héctor Abad's novel of the same name, a tribute to his father, a doctor and defender of human rights in Colombia in the 1970s and 80s. The same year, Disney Studios' animated film Encanto: The Fantastic Madrigal Family (2021) used Colombia - without naming it - as the setting for its coming-of-age story, set against a backdrop of frenzied songs that are already cult favorites.
On the series side, it's obviously the Narcos series, created by Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato and Doug Miro (2015-2017), that puts Colombia's big cities on the screen. The series travels between Bogotá, Cartagena, Cali and Medellín in the footsteps of drug trafficker Pablo Escobar.
Another more recent production, Andres Salgado's La reina del flow (2018-2021) will also take you on a musical tour of Medellín, while Frontera Verde (2019) will plunge you into the Amazon jungle, with a True Detective feel.
Being a cinephile in Colombia
With more than 220 cinemas throughout the country, and various festivals between Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena, you'll have no shortage of opportunities during your stay. Colombia also boasts the largest IMAX screen in Latin America, at the Procinal cinema in Bogotá. Last but not least, the city of Cali is home to the Museo Caliwood, run by an enthusiast and featuring a wealth of objects and posters relating to the history of national cinema. A must-see if you're passionate about the seventh art.
