Spazju Kreattiv is showing the Colombian film La Tierra y la Sombra, a slow-burning tale about a sugar cane farmer who returns home to find his family struggling with illness and poverty.

Against a rural landscape that evokes an impending apocalypse, Alfonso and his family bear witness to the destruction and decay that ravage the land – burning crops, workers’ strikes and ash rain.

To worsen the hardships endured by the family, it results that Alfonso’s son, Gerardo, has likely developed a deadly respiratory illness from the dire conditions brought about by the fires.

With Gerardo confined to the home, his family are forced to make a living under the same life-threatening conditions while adapting to Alfonso’s return.

Writer of Los Hongos (2014), director César Augusto Acevedo shines in his first feature-length offering, described as a patiently-recounted feat of ‘slow cinema’.

This screening is coordinated by the honorary consulate for Colombia and Spazju Kreattiv.

La Tierra y la Sombra is being screened today at 7.30pm at St James Cavalier, Valletta. For more information and tickets, visit www.kreattivita.org.