Characters!
This young protagonist dreams of playing soccer but faces danger when his ball lands in a minefield.
Who is Manuel?
This country’s rural countryside, marked by armed conflict and lush landscapes, is the backdrop for the film Los colores de la montaña.
What is Colombia?
This cherished possession of Manuel’s rolls into a forbidden area, driving the film’s central conflict.
What is his football (or soccer ball)?
In one scene, Abad Colorado revisits a schoolhouse in this village, where his photo of a chalkboard with the date "1997" became a symbol of interrupted education.
What is El Salado? (The chalkboard photo famously captured the day violence froze time in the village.)
Director Jesús Vallejo chose this unconventional medium—not just interviews—to tell Abad Colorado’s story, weaving archival footage with stark black-and-white.
What is animation (or rotoscope animation)?
This Colombian photojournalist, the central figure of the film, documented his country's conflict for over 30 years with a focus on human suffering.
Who is Jesús Abad Colorado?
This war-torn country, where the documentary unfolds, endured over 50 years of armed conflict between guerrillas, paramilitaries, and the state.
What is Colombia!?
the reason Manuel’s family and neighbors are pressured to abandon their homes.
What is guerrilla/paramilitary violence (or armed conflict)?
The film shows Abad confronting this ethical dilemma when survivors ask why he photographed their dead loved ones instead of helping them.
What is the photographer's moral responsibility (or "witness vs. intervention")?
Los colores de la montaña's young lead actor, Nolberto Sánchez, was discovered doing this everyday activity in a Colombian village.
What is playing soccer (or herding goats)?
Manuel's timid best friend, who struggles with fear but ultimately shows courage in their dire circumstances.
Who is Julián?
The danger lurking in the fields near the village that becomes a central symbol of fear and lost innocence in Los colores de la montaña
What are landmines (or a minefield)?
The fate of the village schoolteacher, which underscores the dangers of the war-torn setting.
What is fleeing (or leaving the village due to threats)?
Abad Colorado’s photographs often highlight this recurring figure, symbolizing resilience amid violence: a mother, a child, or ____.
what is a cross?
Abad Colorado’s iconic photo of a grieving mother in Bojayá was almost deleted for this reason, forcing him to recover it from damaged equipment.
What is a corrupted memory card (broken camera)?
These individuals, often anonymous in the film, are the heart of Abad Colorado's work—survivors, displaced families, and victims whose stories he preserved through his lens.
Who are the civilians (or victims of the conflict)?
Abad Colorado’s photos often capture these rural landscapes, where mountains and jungles hid both violence and displaced communities.
what are conflict zones like Urabá or Chocó?
Manuel’s act of defiance against the armed men, symbolizing his dwindling childhood innocence.
What is throwing a rock at their jeep?
One haunting sequence intercuts Abad’s photos of this river, where bodies were dumped, with survivors' testimonies decades later.
What is the Cauca River (or Río Cauca)?
To achieve realism, the crew for Los colores de la montaña filmed in active conflict zones and had to negotiate with this group for safe passage.
What are guerrilla fighters (or local armed groups)?
Manuel’s father, a farmer who refuses to abandon his land despite the escalating violence around them.
Who is Ernesto?
The film contrasts these two settings: bustling urban centers and ___ where conflict raged, symbolized by Abad’s photos of protests vs. mass graves.
What are forgotten territories?
The bittersweet final scene, where Manuel and Julián do this instead of retrieving the soccer ball.
What is flying a kite (or watching it soar over the minefield)?
A climactic sequence juxtaposes Abad’s photos of this 2002 massacre—where a church bombing killed 79 civilians—with survivors’ modern-day grief.
What is the Bojayá massacre?
The film’s title references Abad’s role as both observer and participant, but his camera brand was also symbolic—he always shot with this German-made camera.
What is Leica?