Killa

synopsis

A photograph and a news story at an inopportune moment form the beginning of a story about love, racism, and persecution centred on the relationship between a journalist (Alicia) and a Kichwa photographer (Sayri). As an Indigenous leader takes up the defence of a community against a mining company, his determination will lead to a personal confrontation with a corrupt high-ranking government official, which will have repercussions on the lives of Alicia and Sayri. The positions taken by the government official and the Indigenous leader show two different conceptions of how to approach life. The official is concerned with development, while the leader fights to defend nature. The couple and the community will pay the price for the outcome of this confrontation.

about the director

Alberto Muenala is a Kichwa filmmaker from Ecuador dedicated to strengthening Indigenous cinema and audiovisual storytelling across Latin America. He studied filmmaking at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and holds a Master’s degree in Research, Art, and Visual Studies from the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Ecuador.

He is the founder of the RUPAI Corporation and co-founder of the ACAPANA and RUNACINEMA collectives. His films, including Mother Earth Speaks, Yapallac, In the Name of All Lives, and Killa, have received international recognition and have been screened at venues and festivals such as MoMA, the National Museum of the American Indian, Sundance, and the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival.

Alongside his directing work, Muenala has produced numerous film and television projects. His second narrative feature, Heart of the Earth (Allpamamapak Shunku), is currently in post-production.