The trailer for this documentary film about indigenous struggles in Colombia came to my attention earlier this week and I wanted to share it with VL readers as many of you may be interested in coordinating a screening or supporting the documentary. Below is the synopsis from the film website as well as the trailer which is in Spanish with English subtitles.

Colombia has 102 indigenous peoples that are currently caught in the crossfire between Latin America’s oldest guerrilla group and the army. WE WOMEN WARRIORS is a journey inside the war-torn native nations that are surviving Colombia’s internal armed conflict, guided by three valiant female leaders who illuminate salient examples of bravery and nonviolence.

WE WOMEN WARRIORS shares intimate stories of resistance and survival. Doris Puchana, 26, is a young mother who defends the vulnerable Awá population that grows coca leaves (the base for cocaine). Ludis Rodriguez, 34, a spunky Kankuamo widow, tells us from prison how she was framed and captured on false charges of rebellion. Tiny in height but tremendous in spirit, Flor Ilva Trochez, 36, is the first female leader for the Nasa tribal government. She leads peaceful demonstrations to fight for the removal of police barracks set up in the Nasa community that endanger civilians by placing them in the line of fire.

WE WOMEN WARRIORS is both personal and political. Despite her life being threatened after denouncing a massacre in her village, Doris does not abandon her tribal post. Once Ludis is freed she joins other widows in the struggle to move onward, coping and healing after systematic violence swept through her region. Meanwhile, Flor puts Colombia’s constitutional indigenous autonomy into practice and strives toward creating a territory free of armed fighters.

In 2009, Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled that nearly one-third of its native peoples are in danger of extinction because of the warfare. WE WOMEN WARRIORS bears witness to human rights abuses and offers stories of female empowerment, unshakable courage and faith in the survival of indigenous culture.

WE WOMEN WARRIORS from Nicole Karsin on Vimeo.