LA FORTALEZA
A film by Jorge Thielen Armand
Venezuela, Colombia, France, Netherlands
108 min. 2020

49th IFF Rotterdam
Tiger Competition

DIRECTOR
Jorge Thielen Armand

WITH
Jorge Roque Thielen
Carlos Medina
Yoni Naranjo
Leudys Naranjo

PRODUCERS
Rodrigo Michelangeli
Manon Ardisson
Jorge Thielen Armand
Rodolfo Cova
Zach LeBeau
Kim Jackson

CO-PRODUCERS
Felipe Guerrero
Louise Bellicaud
Claire Charles-Gervais
Marleen Slot

PRODUCTION COMPANIES
La Faena
Mutokino
In-Vivo Films
Viking Film
Ardimages UK
Genuino Films

WITH THE SUPPORT OF
Breaker
World Cinema Fund
Film Fond - Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Proimágenes Colombia
Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund
BAFICI - Buenos Aires Lab, ARTE Cinéma International Prize
Cine Qua Non Lab
TIFF Writer's Studio
Guadalajara IFF - Co-Production Meeting

The film overwhelms us in the roar of a tempest of love. It is a mutual gift and a Lazarean wager of immortality. The journey of a fleeting silhouette steeped in anger whose fury resonates in immense and indifferent landscapes. It is also a documentary about gold, expenditure, destruction, and a debilitating collective crisis. — Nicole Brenez

SYNOPSIS
To escape the crisis in Venezuela, and his alcoholism, Roque retreats into the Amazon jungle to renovate a cabin he built during happier times. He struggles with feverish visions caused by alcohol abstinence, and his desire for redemption becomes distorted when he joins old friends to work in an illegal gold mine controlled by Colombian guerrillas. The violence required to work in the mine plunges Roque into a cycle of self-destruction that devours his interior. He will need the fortitude to get out and start anew.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Inspired by the true stories of my father, I followed him to jungle to rebuild an abandoned tourist lodge—and to rebuild ourselves. Making the film became a way for my father and I to confront the distance between us, the pains of the past, and the inner violence this has unleashed. I set out in search of fortitude, to immortalize my father and a country I can no longer recognize in memories.

PRESS
> A bold and distinctive directorial vision. Wendy Ide, Screen International
> A solemn tale of exile and redemption. Jordan Cronk, Film Comment
> A state of resurrection in stagnation, in emptiness, in antipodes. In its paradoxes resides the best cinema of Venezuela. Sergio Monsalve, El Nacional
> Goes beyond the blend of documentary and fiction, to investigate how crisis situations affects the souls of those who live them. Pablo Gamba, Desistfilm
> A tour de forcé of sensations. Dani Rodriguez, CineMaldito
> Thielen Armand has tremendous efficiency in his storytelling style, which allows him to concentrate on the character study, rather than impose a plot. Kaleem Aftab, Cineuropa
> Thielen Armand counterbalances the aspect of auto-fiction with a documentary camera that creates a disturbing atmosphere in the heart of the jungle. Cédric Lépine, Fiches du Cinéma
> Completely original magic realism. Luca Bove, Taxi Drivers Italy


SCREENINGS (selection)
49th International Film Festival Rotterdam - Tiger Competition. Netherlands
51st Visions du Réel International Film Festival. Switzerland
25th Busan International Film Festival. Korea
58th Gijón International Film Festival. Spain
35th Guadalajara International Film Festival. Mexico
60th Cartagena International Film Festival. Colombia
64th Cork International Film Festival. Ireland
42nd Cairo International Film Festival. Egypt
42nd Havana International Film Festival. Cuba
36th Santa Barbara International Film Festival. USA

AWARDS
Jury Prize. 29th Biarritz Amérique-Latine. France.
Grand Prix Marchica Best Film. 9th Festival de Cinéma et Mémoire Commune. Morocco
Best Actor. 9th Festival de Cinéma et Mémoire Commune. Morocco
Audience Award for Best Film. Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Quito. Ecuador
Special Mention. 20th Rome Independent Film Festival. Italy
Special Mention. 1st Master International Film Festival Yasmine Hammamet. Tunisia
Best Lead Actor. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Venezuela
Best Sound. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Venezuela
Best Film. 10th Festival de Cine Entre Largos y Cortos de Oriente. Venezuela
Best Production. 10th Festival de Cine Entre Largos y Cortos de Oriente. Venezuela
Best Sound. 10th Festival de Cine Entre Largos y Cortos de Oriente. Venezuela
Best Supporting Actor. 16th Festival del Cine Venezolano. Venezuela
Best Film. 1st Festival de la Crítica Cinematográfica de Caracas. Venezuela
Best Director. 1st Festival de la Crítica Cinematográfica de Caracas. Venezuela
Best Cinematography. 1st Festival de la Crítica Cinematográfica de Caracas. Venezuela
Best Art Direction. Chacao Municipality Cinema Awards 2023. Venezuela
Best Cinematography. Chacao Municipality Cinema Awards 2023. Venezuela
Nominated for Best Latin American Film of 2020. 11th Cinema Tropical Awards. USA
Nominated for the 2021 DGC Discovery Award. Director’s Guild of Canada.
Nominated for Best Iberoamerican Film. 2022 Colibri Awards, Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences. Ecuador