Five years, four months director on Colombia's disappeared
Esteban Hoyos García, co-director of Five Years, Four Months, says the Karlovy Vary drama is more urgent than ever as Colombia's incoming right-wing president Abelardo de la Espriella Otero threatens to defund searches for the disappeared and suspend the 2016 peace deal. The first Colombian Crystal Globe contender amplifies 120,000 missing people's stories.
Key Takeaways
- Five Years, Four Months is the first Colombian film in Karlovy Vary's Crystal Globe Competition.
- The drama follows two mothers searching for sons lost in Colombia's armed conflict.
- Co-director Esteban Hoyos García warns incoming president Abelardo de la Espriella Otero may suspend the 2016 Peace Agreement.
- Colombia has roughly 120,000 missing people, many tied to decades of conflict.
- Real searching mothers appear in the supporting cast alongside professional leads.
What is 'Five Years, Four Months' about?
The Colombia-U.S. co-production follows Martha (Jenny Nava), a mother whose son vanished during the armed conflict. Five years into her search, an exhumation yields no bone match. Having exhausted institutional options, she travels with fellow searching mother Sandra (Carmiña Martínez) toward a village where the dead are rumored to grant the living one favor.
Co-directors Juan Miguel Gelacio and Hoyos García evolved the project from a planned documentary into this 83-minute feature, their second after Jungle. The pair paired a mother searching for a few years with one whose search spans two decades to show different stages of mourning.
Why does the co-director see urgency ahead of Otero's presidency?
Speaking with Variety ahead of the world premiere, Hoyos García said remembering Colombia's disappeared is a struggle as Abelardo de la Espriella Otero prepares to take office in early August. Otero has signaled plans to suspend the landmark 2016 Peace Agreement between the government and FARC-EP and to defund initiatives focused on finding missing people.
When filming began under left-wing president Gustavo Petro, there was hope the film would keep memory alive. Now, Hoyos García says, the work feels even more urgent. He cited the so-called false positives scandal under Álvaro Uribe's government, when more than 7,000 innocent people were killed by the military and presented as guerrilla fighters.
How did Karlovy Vary become the launchpad?
Being the first Colombian title in the festival's main competition window feeds the directors' mission of international visibility. The project won the Platino industry award for best Latam work in progress at San Sebastián, where Karlovy Vary artistic director Karel Och saw it and invited the team to Czechia.
The film is produced by Selva Producciones with Redline Enterprises, Chicamocha Films and Andante Producciones, with Patra Spanou handling sales. For more festival and streaming coverage, see our Streaming & TV Alerts hub.