Nuestra tierra

The opening five shots are cosmic. Filmed from a satellite camera in space, the Earth appears radiant—though only from that vantage point. Accompanying the images is “Misa Criolla” by Ariel Ramírez— a composition that fuses ostensibly elevated music with folk traditions. It is an enigmatic prelude to a film that centres on the trial of three individuals suspected of having murdered a man. On October 12, 2009, a date far from arbitrary, Javier Chocobar ceased to exist. Together with his companions, he was defending the land where they and their ancestors had lived for centuries. The 68-yearold victim was a member of the Chuschagasta community. Without abandoning the legal drama, Martel progressively shifts the focus of the narrative towards other members of the community, who reflect on their lives and in doing so stir up the past, revealing secret moments of joy as well as episodes that are shameful in their implications. NUESTRA TIERRA is nothing less than a chapter of world history understood as infamy, constructed through outstanding use of photography, extraordinary aerial tracking shots and close-ups of faces that, by their very presence, embody the decency of the innocent and the abjection of the powerful. (Roger Koza)

In the presence of Lucrecia Martel.
On Wednesday, October 22 at 6.15 pm, a talk with Lucrecia Martel will take place at the Metro Kinokulturhaus/Kinosalon.

Lucrecia Martel (selection): REY MUERTO (1995, K) LA CIÉNAGA (2001), LA NIÑA SANTA (2004), LA MUJER SIN CABEZA (2008), ZAMA (2017), AI (2019, Viennale Trailer, K), TERMINAL NORTE (2021, K)