Festival Films A-Z

Peter Atanassow
Gaudystraße 18
10437 Berlin
Deutschland
Mobil: +49 172 380 36 34
Tel.: +49 30 44 04 10 83
E-Mail: ata68@gmx.net

René Beißert, Jorge Pavez

Peter Atanassow

Untertitel: Sibylle Arndt
Deutsche Übersetzung: Gudrun Kern, Anna Montany, Jorge Pavez

Synopsis

Ever since Gran Colombia broke into Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia in 1829/30, Ecuador and Colombia have been in a near-permanent state of unrest and struggle. The civil war, which lasted from 1948 to 1953, was followed by General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla's five-year dictatorship. After their land had been forcibly redistributed, many farmers were forced to flee. Beginning in the 1960s, the guerrilla managed to find quite a number of followers, especially among people from neglected regions and slums. The ELN - the National Liberation Army - is a guerrilla movement which started in operating in 1964. In his film Los Guerrilleros Colombianos, director Peter Atanassow portrays a combat unit at the frontline which, according to their leader Gustavo, "is located at the outer edge of an area controlled by us. This border isn't completely blocked: down there in the lowlands, the enemy patrols. Sometimes we manage to to get through to them in small units, enter into skirmishes, and collect information. Apart from combat units, we have political divisions who work to convince the locals of our cause."
Los Guerrilleros Colombianos presents images that have never been seen before on a screen. In verite-style, the director presents guerrilleros who grant audiences an intimate view of their everyday lives, explaining their motives and procedures, their individual backgrounds, and expectations. All of them are convinced that "since 1948" there has been no alternative to armed opposition against capitalism. Although some members give a strong account of their personal motivation to join the ELN and tell about their lives full of privations and disconnected from the rest of society, the political background and the actions of the group remain contradictory and uncommented in the film. Los Guerrilleros Colombianos provides fascinating and revealing insights, and manages to captivate its audience without playing down the drastic methods and actions of the ELN.

Biography

Der Nachtportier (2001), Los Guerilleros Colombianos (2006)

Filmography

Der Nachtportier (2001), Los Guerilleros Colombianos (2006)

Dates

46	05.10.2007	21:15	Festsaal
88	08.10.2007	21:15	Festsaal