Spectral Geography

The natural landscape of Colombia's Rio Cauca valley, with its mountains, forests and waters, has been redesigned and transformed for colonial hydroelectric production. But if hills have eyes, rivers have souls, which oppose forced reconfiguration through engineering control fantasies, embracing instead those who thrive in harmony with nature. The clash between different interpretations of the territory is reflected in the ways of representing it: exploitation adopts the vertical bird's-eye view typical of contemporary video surveillance and warfare, in order to map the space from peaks to lake beds; while the community expresses itself through a horizontal slow reinterpretation in the form of songs and embroidery, celebrating its traditions and identity in unity with, rather than in opposition to, the environment. However, profit once again prevails and they can only console themselves with a ritual to commemorate their lost territory, invoking the spirits of the river and contributing their own images and sounds to transform the film itself into a memorial to a paradise now lost.

Sergio Fant