Lapü

by Juan Pablo Polanco, César Alejandro Jaimes New World View: Colombia

On a windy night in the Colombian Guajira desert, Doris is dreaming about her deceased cousin. For the Wayuu indigenous people, this marks a sign that an important ritual is about to begin. For the family to finally say goodbye, Doris will exhume the bones of the deceased, clean them and bury them a second time. In the documentary LAPÜ, which was created in close collaboration with the indigenous population, we immerse ourselves in the farewell ritual of a culture very different from our own, one in which sadness is celebrated as a conscious experience. The camera’s lens not only focuses on the ritual itself, but also on the people present, whose faces reflect the curiosity and fascination of the audience itself; a unique and unusual cinematic experience.