Crocodile-men, a mystic river, some kids that like fishing and a war that ends 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.
Juanita Onzaga is a Colombian-Belgian film director and DOP who plays with hybrid forms of film, combining fiction, documentary and experimental elements.
Within her narrations she touches the importance of memory, death and imagination, creating tales that reflect different ways of perceiving reality, often within a strong political context. Watching her work, you wander in dreams, jungles and cities surrounded by spirits.
In 2017, her short film The Jungle Knows You Better Than You Do won the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Berlinale in the section Generation 14plus, the VAF wildcard and other prizes while selected in festivals as San Sebastian, Sao Paulo, Reykjavik, Vilnius and Cartagena.
Onzaga’s new short film Our Song To War recently premiered at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs during the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
She is currently developing her first fiction feature film “The Landscapes That You Seek” at the Torino Script Lab supported by Hubert Bals Bright Future.
