Felipe Gàlves’s debut feature film The Settlers (Los Colonos) invites the audience to a profound confrontation with the nature of colonialism.
Set at the beginning of the 20th century in the Tierra del Fuego region of South America, known as the "Land of Fire," the story recounts the relationship between settlers arriving from Europe and the indigenous people, revealing how the local population was subjected to inhumane treatment.
This harsh story, in which the level of violence and tension gradually escalates, uses the characteristics of the western genre to address an issue with universal political echoes, accompanied by exquisite cinematography.
EXPOSING THE SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE
The story begins when José Menéndez, a wealthy landowner known as the "King of White Gold," hires three men to fence off his land: focusing on a rogue British lieutenant, a young Chilean mestizo, and an American mercenary, the film exposes a spiral of violence initiated by Menéndez to clear his lands of the indigenous people.
Shedding light on the Selk'nam genocide, which holds an important place in Chile's national memory, The Settlers will meet audiences on the platform MUBI starting March 29.
News Source: 12punto
