Trazos

The singular stories of Alberto and Margarita embody some of Colombia's intimate and collective wounds. They mirror each other to show the scope of the work that remains to be accomplished in the peace process. Alberto's story is one of resilience. He personifies both the difficulty of reconstruction in a war-torn country and a desire for reinvention. Since deserting the group at the age of 15, he has been trying to build a new identity and to reintegrate society. He is a university student and works as a "peace manager" at the Colombian Agency for Reintegration with demobilised young rebels. He is also a national spokesperson for former child soldiers and frequently participates in reconciliation workshops. In this unprecedented situation, he is a complex character who has to juggle multiple identities, sometimes hiding his past to blend into a city that rejects former rebels, sometimes overexposing it for his work. By engaging in this film, telling his truth, he hopes to change the way the colombian society looks at the young enlisted in the war, but also to get closer to his family who has rejected him for the choice he made.Mirroring Alberto, Margarita, 60 years old, is a unique "reconstruction therapist": she has been shaping facial prostheses for the victims of Colombian violence for years. Coming from a conservative family, Margarita has changed her perception of the conflict by confronting herself to the stories of her patients. She is both mirror and sponge of the tragedies of war. Thanks to her creative work, she recreates a more peaceful identity for each victim.Today, after more than 30 years of this endeavour, Margarita has reached the point where she is looking back and reviewing her life and work. Behind the closed doors of her cabinet, she offers a broad and metaphoric immersion into the war and its consequences.