Forest up in the Mountain

In 2017, young Mapuche Rafael Nahuel was killed by Argentina’s Naval Prefecture police in the Andean forest of Villa Mascardi, Patagonia. Drawing on court records, official documents, and forensic archives, Forest up in the Mountain situates this crime within a long history of systematic state violence against the Mapuche people. The film links this case to violence rooted in territorial colonization following the so-called “Conquest of the Desert” in the late 19th century. By exposing the fractures of a judicial system that reproduces disproportionate power relations between the state and Indigenous peoples – and treats their territories as sites of industrial exploitation – this porous document brings to light processes of dislocation and identity rupture enacted through material and symbolic violence. Through a historical examination of territorial disputes, Sofía Bordenave’s film presents the forest as both witness and space of resistance, an echoing archive whose testimony extends beyond the courtroom and challenges official narratives. (David Montenegro)

Sofía Bordenave is a filmmaker and human rights lawyer born in Córdoba, Argentina. Her film Estrella Roja premiered at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival in 2021, winning the Young Critics Award for Best First Film. It also screened at Lincoln Center and the Jeonju International Film Festival. She is currently shooting her first fiction feature, All the Shipwrecks in the World. Alongside filmmaking, she has worked for over 30 years in human rights and Indigenous rights.

Director Sofía Bordenave. Screenplay Sofía Bordenave, Pablo Weber. Cinematography Ezequiel Salinas. Editing Pablo Weber. Music Sebastian Teves. Sound Design Atilio Sanchez. Producers Clara Massot, Sofía Bordenave, Manuel Rapoport. Executive Producer Manuel Rapaport. Production companies Maleza cine (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Afuera producciónes (San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina). With Mirta Ñancunao, Lorena Cañuqueo, Joaquin Rapoport.

Films: 2018: La suave noche (documentary, co-directed by Luz Rapoport). 2021: Estrella Roja / Red Star (documentary). 2024: Pas crever (short film). 2026: Forest up in the Mountain.