Closing Night
 

EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTEEmbrace of the Serpent

Director

Ciro Guerra

Cast

  • Nibilo Torres, Antonio Bolivar, Salvado Yangiana, Jan Bijvoet, Brionne Davis
2015, 125 min, COLOMBIA/ VENEZUELA/ARGENTINA
DRAMA/ADVENTURE
ENGLISH, CUBEO, WANANO, TIKUNA, HUITOTO, OKAINA, LATIN, CATALAN, SPANISH, PORTUGUESE AND GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
M
One of the most singular cinematic experiences you could hope to have.
INDIEWIRE

Closing this year’s festival is one of the major discoveries of the 2015 Cannes International Film Festival. Ciro Guerra’s multi award-winning film is a breathtaking cinematic odyssey through the Amazon, following the quests of two European explorers in search of a rare flower alleged to have healing properties.

Inspired by the real-life journals kept by Theodor Koch-Grunberg (portrayed by Jan Bijvoet) and Richard Evans Schultes (Brionne Davis), the film charts each man’s treacherous and life-changing journey. Though decades apart, both are guided through the labyrinthine rivers and jungles by the same native shaman, Karamakate (Nilbio Torres, and later Antonio Bolivar Salvado Yangiama), the last surviving member of his tribe, who takes them deeper and deeper into a heart of darkness. The spectacular widescreen black and white cinematography and evocative sound design combine to depict the landscapes and characters with an hypnotic, mythical sense of wonder. This is an extraordinary film.

NOT SCREE NING IN PERTH

  • WINNER 2015
    Cannes International Film Festival Directors' Fortnight: CICAE Art Cinema Award
    NOMINEE 2016
    ACADEMY AWARDS - Best Foreign Language Film
    WINNER 2015
    Sundance International Film Festival: Alfred P. Sloan Prize