El Silencio de los fusiles

A Feature film of

Produced by

Production year2016

Synopsis

Two enemies long at war with one another decide to sit down and talk. They have rejected and been mutually ignorant of one another for over five decades, meaning that the first thing they must find within themselves are the arguments, language and gestures needed to shift from violence to political negotiation. For four years journalist and filmmaker Natalia Orozco followed men and women on the path to becoming aware of the decisive role they were either forced to play or chose willingly. They are the delegations of the Colombian government and insurgent FARC in the Havana peace talks, leaders and political strategists and the key players—some virtual unknowns—in a process fraught with distrust, not only coming from the public but also the negotiators themselves. When the Guns Go Silent is an exceptional documentary that goes beyond the circumstances of the peace process to show, through powerful file footage, the long history of a war whose victim is the whole of Colombian society. It is also a passionate political thriller built on the tensions and suspense of a fragile negotiations process that is threatened from all sides. The director does not give in to the logic that divides the conflicts into good and bad, nor does she succumb to triumphalism or naiveté. Her journalistic rigour is not compromised by any ideology. She looks everyone in the eyes, listens to arguments, concentrates on the essential, uses her own voice to ask questions and reflects on what she sees and feels. By letting her own humanity show through, she reveals that of everyone else.