Twenty years ago, the maroon community of La Bonga in Colombia received a threat signed by paramilitaries. That same night, the entire town fled and La Bonga was devoured by the jungle. La Bonga is a symbolic journey through the jungles of the Colombian Caribbean to resurrect a place that only exists in memory. In an act of resistance, this party lets the loss go, as it celebrates collective memory and community.

The film is a co-production between the filmmakers, the community of La Bonga and the film collective of San Basilio de Palenque, Kuchá Suto. Kuchá Suto is a collective of Afro-Colombian creators actively using different forms of media to preserve their culture and create dialogue around the importance of their ancestral heritage. This film is ultimately an act of collective creation, in which all intertwine to make something more collectively complex.

Alejeandro Kelly-Hopfenblatt, Ph.D., Zemurray-Stone Post-doctoral Fellow, Stone Center for Latin American Studies, will lead the after-screening Q&A with director Sebastián Pinzón Silva.

Alejandro Kelly-Hopfenblatt is a Zemurray-Stone Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University. Originally from Argentina, he studies the history of Latin American and Argentine film industries and teaches courses on Global South cinemas and film culture.

This film is part of the 34th New Orleans Film Festival. 

The festival will take place in person from November 2-7, 2023, and the majority of the lineup will be virtually accessible from November 2-12, 2023 via the NOFF Virtual Cinema. The New Orleans Film Festival annually brings together more than 150 films and hosts more than 100 filmmakers to celebrate works of emerging and established filmmakers from New Orleans, Louisiana, the South, and beyond. 

To access the complete film guide, click the link: https://neworleansfilmsociety.org/film-guide/