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Mute Fire
Mute Fire
7.7
/10
697 Ratings

MUTE FIRE

Pirotecnia

Directed by Federico Atehortúa Arteaga
Colombia, 2019
Documentary

Synopsis

In 1906, four men were executed for attempting to assassinate Colombia’s president. Years later, director Federico Atehortúa Arteaga discovers the strange and improbable relationship between the failed assassination, his mother, and the origins of cinema in Colombia: a long history of violence.

Synopsis

In 1906, four men were executed for attempting to assassinate Colombia’s president. Years later, director Federico Atehortúa Arteaga discovers the strange and improbable relationship between the failed assassination, his mother, and the origins of cinema in Colombia: a long history of violence.

Our take

Interweaving invaluable archive footage—personal and collective—to investigate his country’s systemic violence, Colombian debutant Federico Atehortúa unveils a striking correspondence between cinema and war. Mute Fire is a poignant reflection on how images produce memory, and memory shapes history.