Forensics delves into three stories about the figure of the disappeared in Colombia to explore the connection between the memory of our dead and national identity. In front of Katalina Ángel's house, a transgender woman has been murdered. In the absence of authorities, she decides to take responsibility for the body, handling the recovery and giving her a name. In the mid-1980s, Jorge Arteaga, my uncle, disappeared. To avoid acknowledging the situation and identifying ourselves as relatives of a disappeared person, for decades, fictitious stories were invented about his whereabouts. These two stories are intertwined with the testimony of forensic anthropologist Karen Quintero, through whom the current efforts in the country to search for the disappeared are portrayed. Through an essayistic exploration that combines archives, animations, dreams, maps, and various formats, the film reveals that the history of Colombia is also the history of its disappeared.

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Directed by Federico Atehortúa Arteaga

Produced by Jerónimo Atehortúa Arteaga

Cinematography: Nicolás Pinzón

Editing: Verónica Balduzzi

Production design: Katalina Ángel

Sound design: Verónica Balduzzi, José Delgadillo and Diana Martínez Muñoz

Music: Carlos Quebrada

Colombia / 2024