Documentary
In 1983, film student Rich Murray was handed $20,000 in a brown paper bag by a hustler named 'Butch.' These were the funds he used to direct his first music video for a local Philly rocker named Alan Mann. That video for the song “Christmas on the Block”, went on to become the first and perhaps only video by an unsigned artist to play on regular rotation on MTV. Using “Christmas on the Block” as a framing device, Murray illuminates Mann’s larger story - and how he could have, should of and almost did make it, but didn’t because of his excesses, and a tragic accidental death. The film also turns the lens sharply on the film’s director (Murray) and how his own excesses might have resulted in the same tragic trajectory, that but for wisdom and luck, did not.
At first glance, the life of a lonely middle-aged woman passes smoothly, in household chores, but how much effort and labor she has invested in the apricot orchard, the only source of income on which she can live until next year. And suddenly fallen snow upsets all her plans and hopes for a good harvest. Therefore, in her thoughts there is only one thing “to save the harvest from frost.” Fumigation (creating a smoke screen) of flowers of apricot trees brings results and there is a premonition that everything will be fine...
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Catatumbo is a subregion of Norte de Santander, on the border with Venezuela. Its jungles, mountains, and rivers shelter the unique Catatumbo Lightning, which lights the skies every night. Violence escalated in the late 1970s, when guerrilla groups like the ELN, EPL, and FARC increased armed actions with killings, kidnappings, and town takeovers. Between 1999 and 2006, paramilitary groups—the Catatumbo Bloc, the Héctor Julio Peinado Front, and the Motilona Resistance Front—left 99,074 displaced, 832 selective killings, and 599 massacre deaths. According to CNMH, over 59% of three decades of displacements occurred in that period. Child recruitment marked another wound: the Truth Commission documented 18,677 individual cases. By 2019, the National Information Network recorded 37,978 victims in Catatumbo, including 19,390 women. On January 16, 2025, clashes between FARC dissidents and the ELN in Tibú and El Tarra triggered another crisis. The UN reported 91,879 people affected, with 56,091 displaced to Cúcuta, Ocaña, and Tibú. UNICEF noted that 84,165 people were impacted, including 70,000 children and adolescents. Of them, 52,807 were displaced and 31,355 confined. Amid state neglect, coca cultivation became a survival strategy for many families, but it also exposed them to persecution, violence, and stigma. To speak of Catatumbo is to name its pain, but also the resilience of its people. Despite hardship, thousands remain standing. Sources: CNMH; UN/OCHA; UNICEF Colombia; Verdad Abierta; El País. Production Notes: This short film was created entirely using artificial intelligence tools for animation, narrative, sound, and editing, including Veo 3, Flow, Whisk, Gemini, ChatGPT, and CapCut. Credits – Short Film PLAY MOVIE (please click here)PLAY MOVIE (please click here)Title: Catatumbo: House of Thunder, Memory and Dignity Direction, Screenplay & Production: Jhonattan Sarmiento Art Direction & Animation: Generative AI (Veo 3, Flow, Whisk, Gemini, ChatGPT) Editing & Post-Production: CapCut Sound Design & Music: Generative AI, edited and mixed in CapCut
