UC Davis

This dissertation discusses the place of Contemporary Colombian Cinema (2003-2023) in both a national and a transnational context, by studying the ways in which independent films have shaped Colombia’s memory narratives. The word “transition” refers to two interrelated dynamics. On the one hand, since the 2010s, Colombian cinema has experienced an exponential increase in film production, with 2022 marking a record of 54 feature films released in that year. Thanks to new production and distribution technologies, as well as increased collaboration with producers and filmmakers from the Global North, Colombian independent films have achieved global acclaim from critics and festival audiences alike. By transitioning towards international co-production, contemporary filmmakers are redefining the boundaries of national cinema. On the other hand, however, in parallel to its increasing international recognition, Colombian cinema has actively intervened in the national debates following the 2016 Peace Accord between the government and FARC. In a tumultuous context, independent films have urged spectators to not only examine the cracks and omissions in the construction of historical memory, but also to envision transitional scenarios. The chapters of this dissertation focus on diverse territories, historical events, and film archives. Chapter 1 interrogates the voids in the filmic memorialization of the mass atrocities committed against the native peoples of the Putumayo during the rubber boom of the early 20th century. Chapter 2 analyzes how cinema has captured the social and environmental effects of the advent of the sugar cane industry in the Cauca region by contesting an “extractive gaze”. Chapter 3 examines how Colombian cinema has tapped Latin America’s tradition of films about adolescence to visualize the past of the Internal Conflict and envision its resolution. And, finally, Chapter 4 discusses the projection of Colombia’s recent history in the cinemas of the Global South. The interest of this study is twofold. In addition to analyzing the narratives and audiovisual grammars that contemporary films have deployed to intervene in the transitional debates about truth, peace, and reconciliation, this dissertation discusses the extent to which the exploration of memory has constituted a privileged transnational platform for contemporary Colombian cinema.