Spanish, Murui Huitoto with English subtitles

How is it possible that more than 30,000 indigenous, Huitotos, Ocainas, Boras, Muinanes, Resígaros, Andoques and Nonuyas, were murdered in only ten years – a genocide that rendered these ethnicities almost extinct? None of this is visible in archive images, which depict the “progress” as well as images of “caucheros” (rubber extractors) as pacifiers of Indigenous people. The Indigenous are portrayed as anonymous characters in history. They are faces without names, without commemoration. They are characters that no one remembers and of whom we have lost track. Thus, it becomes impossible to trace their histories from a purely documentary approach. My intention is to address this issue through fiction, exploring what the documentary can no longer give us. In my work, I defend the idea that archival images can inspire fiction. Just because the archive is made of documents does not mean that we look at it objectively. Gaps are filled with feelings, intuition and what must be said.

I am aware of the distance that separates me from them. Not only in terms of time, but also in terms of reality. For a long time, I did not feel authorised to speak on their behalf. The idea of creating fiction was always there, but I couldn’t find the right position from which to speak. My characters have historically been made invisible, and my fear was to yet again render them invisible, this time from within the field of representation. I have finally decided to speak for myself and express my feelings in the face of their images. (Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski)

• Sektion Section: Film
• Programm Programme: they gave us flames, we made a fire 2