The Witness is a feature length documentary which tells a unique story of forgiveness through the lens of award-winning Colombian photojournalist, Jesús Abad Colorado. Jesús has risked his life to tell the stories of the millions of victims of his country’s conflict, the longest civil war in the western hemisphere.
Produced and directed by Kate Horne, the film was a co-production between Pacha Films, Ronachan Films and Horne Productions for broadcaster Caracol Televisión. The film launched on Netflix in June 2019 and has been nominated for Best Documentary at the 2020 International Emmy Awards, to be held in November.
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Two years after the government signed peace with the FARC guerrillas (ending a 50 year civil war) the film was used as a tool to promote dialogue about forgiveness and peacebuilding in communities throughout Colombia.
Horne Productions worked closely with Caracol Televisión on a release strategy and a social impact strategy:
March 2018: Spreading Peace Colombia
October 2018: Theatrical release through CineColombia
March 2019: Screenings in New York
April 2019: With a momentum behind the film, the broadcast of El Testigo on Caracol in Colombia saw #JesusAbadColorado and #ElTestigo trend internationally on Twitter. Due to the overwhelming response, the film was repeated
April 2019: Screenings at the Curzon Cinema in London
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Following the Netflix release in June 2019, Horne Productions has worked closely with grassroots organisation, Rodeemos el Diálogo, and partnered with international Alliance for Peacebuilding. Jesús Abad Colorado talks throughout Colombia and at international festivals and screenings.
The film is now part of a global campaign to get “peacebuilding” a word that gets 8,000,000 Google hits – into the world’s leading dictionaries.
The film is available on request for download for private screenings around the world accompanied by a discussion about peacebuilding. Please contact Horne Productions if you wish to arrange such a screening.
