Hermanos de guerra

Direction
Jose Varon
Country
Colombia
Format
Feature film
Type
Documentary
Original title
Hermanos de guerra
Scenario
Jose Varon

Jose Varon

Filmography

Nocaut (in postproduction), Documentary
The Path of the Anaconda, Netflix & Caracol TV, Documentary
¿A qué sabe Colombia?,  Netflix Series
La de Troya, Serie

Note of intent

I want the camera to become the device through which the memories of my two protagonists are revealed, as they narrate fragments of their past, with an infinite and inexhaustible repertoire of images captured over a long period of time and on different formats, including video, texts, sounds and objects. In the meantime, I also want to break the linear narrative to approach their present situation, as they face war and censorship again, and show the audience the real value –and risk– of their profession.

Synopsis

In Colombia, two war photographers, Damien and Christian -a left-wing French and a right-wing Colombian respectively- struggle to recover from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and war-related issues after covering war for 15 years. However, as they try to find a new purpose in life, violence returns with heavier censorship and persecution, while death threats intensify against them. Damien’s case worsens as his visa is cancelled in what he perceives as censorship, forcing him to return temporarily to Paris. As his best friend returns, Christian starts to struggle with suicide thoughts and destructive memories of war. Neither of them has it easy. We follow their daily struggle and intents to escape death, in a straightforward portrait of one of the most dangerous and overlooked jobs in Colombia: War Photography.

Visual concept

The audiovisual aspect aims at neatness, with frames showing a content narrated with actions rather than dialogues, gestures and atmospheres. The film seeks to generate a reflective vision of memories of war, not to create a museum piece; this is the story of a friendship that goes through the greatest adversities, where the horror and beauty of a painful work, photojournalism, arise. We want the audience to feel the calm and intense feelings that a war photographer experiments when dealing with war, death and hope.

Objectives sought in Films in Development

Attending workshops and looking for French co-producers, TV broadcasters, distributors, festivals programmers and sales agents.

Shooting planned date

July – october 2020

Planned shooting location

Cali (Colombia), Bogotá (Colombia), Paris (France)

Percentage of funding in place
58.000 Euros = 30%
Project's development phase

Advanced development

Production
Farenheit
Producer's biography

David Herrera is a producer with a passion for politics and human rights, who graduated in Producing from the Royal Holloway University of London and Political Science from Los Andes University, Bogotá. His latest works include Sandboy (Señal Colombia, Sundance+ChileDoc Connect), Martyr of Fear (Winner FDC), A Story that never ends (TV), To the end of the world (Winner FDC) and Prelude (Cartagena IFF).