Silent Witnesses
(Mudos Testigos)

Luis Ospina passed away in 2019 leaving an indelible mark on the cinema of Colombia and Latin America. Filmmaker, critic, producer, editor, actor, programmer and director of Cali Festival from 2007 until his death, he became a filmmaker at a time when the cinema was heavily engaged with the spirit of protest (Oiga vea, 1972). Ospina unpacked myths by forging his own legend, without ever giving it a thought. From his years of education in the United States and the Cali group he created with Carlos Mayolo and Andres Caideco, he retained a love for young people, which made him into a crossroads between generations. Preoccupied with the present as much as with not forgetting anything, he co-authored and co-directed Mudos Testigos with Jerónimo Atehortúa Arteaga, who completed the project. Mudos Testigos is a fiction that uses the remaining footage of rare silent feature films made in Colombia. An imaginary and mischievous story where a leading figure and a young critic rebuild a Colombia that they did not know. As Ospina reminded us: losing memory, it’s death. JB