LATIN AMERICAN VISIONARY CINEMA: Embrace of the Serpent

2015, 125min
Colombia/Venezuela/Argentina

Language: Five indigenous languages, plus Spanish, German, Portuguese and Catalan w/English subtitles

Director: Ciro Guerra

The SNF Parkway is proud to present Latin American Visionary Cinema, a month-long exploration of exciting work drawn from important voices in Latin American film over the past decade. This series of twelve films spans many genres, represents 10 countries, and includes many titles that had little or no theatrical distribution in the United States. The Latin American Visionary Cinema series is presented by PNC Bank.
 
EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT: At once blistering and poetic, the ravages of colonialism cast a dark shadow over the South American landscape in EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT, the third feature by Ciro Guerra. Filmed in stunning black-and-white, SERPENT centers on Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people, and the two scientists who, over the course of 40 years, build a friendship with him. The film was inspired by the real-life journals of two explorers (Theodor Koch-Grünberg and Richard Evans Schultes) who traveled through the Colombian Amazon during the last century in search of the sacred and difficult-to-find psychedelic Yakruna plant.
 
“A visually mesmerizing exploration of man, nature and the destructive powers of colonialism, Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente) marks an impressively realized third feature from Colombian writer-director Ciro Guerra, featuring knockout black-and-white cinematography and an array of breathtaking locations.”Jordan Mintzer, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
 
“An intense journey and very rewarding visual feast.” Nathaniel Rogers, THE FILM EXPERIENCE