soul of the desert
ALMA DEL DESIERTO at DOC NYC
in the International Competition
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Mónica Taboada Tapia
Colombia/Brazil, 2024, 87′, col.
S C R E E N I N G
Thursday, November 14, 2024 9:15 PM
Village East by Angelika
In the arid landscapes of La Guajira, Colombia, Georgina, a transgender Wayúu woman in the third act of her life, knows that her time is running out and wants to change her existence. With nothing to lose, she sets out to meet her siblings, who don’t speak Spanish and barely survive on the fringes of the opaque Colombian bureaucratic system. Amid open wounds, memories, and unfathomable geographical and emotional distances, Georgina and her people agree that enough is enough. Alma del desierto emerges as a story of resilience, a symbol of hope, and a fervent struggle for justice.
Mónica Taboada-Tapia studied anthropology and holds a degree in filmmaking and TV. Her film projects have been presented in markets and labs such as TorinoFilmLab, Tribeca Film Institute Network, Docs Barcelona, DocMontevideo Pitch, The NYT Op-Docs, Pulitzer Center and Tribeca Film Institute International Pitch. She directed the short films Fidel (2012), Two-Spirit (2021), and Red Flag (2023), all selected for film festivals like IDFA, Outfest, BFI Flare, New Filmmakers, FICCI and Palm Springs. She was nominated for the 2022 Macondo Awards from the Colombian Academy and the 2022 IDA Awards from the International Documentary Association. Additionally, she produced the documentary Causas Elevadas (2021) and was the show runner for the series The Pleasure of Escaping the World (2021). She is the founder of the production company Guerrero Films and currently working on the short film The Cedar and the feature films From the Hood and Queen of the People, with the support of FDC or ANCINE. Alma del Desierto (2024) is her feature film debut, selected for Giornate degli Autori at the Venice Film Festival.
