‘Embrace of the Serpent’ Takes Audience Through Colombia’s Amazon

embrace the serpent
Colombian director Ciro Guerra, a first-time Oscar finalist, stands in front of a movie poster promoting his film, "Embrace of the Serpent" during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. "Embrace of the Serpent" is among five nominees announced Thursday for the foreign-language Academy Award. Shot in black and white the movie tells the story of the relationship between an Amazonian shaman and two scientists who work together to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. Santiago Cortez / AP Photo
embrace the serpent
Colombian director Ciro Guerra, a first-time Oscar finalist, stands in front of a movie poster promoting his film, "Embrace of the Serpent" during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. "Embrace of the Serpent" is among five nominees announced Thursday for the foreign-language Academy Award. Shot in black and white the movie tells the story of the relationship between an Amazonian shaman and two scientists who work together to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. Santiago Cortez / AP Photo

‘Embrace of the Serpent’ Takes Audience Through Colombia’s Amazon

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The Oscar-nominated film Embrace of the Serpent centers on a Colombian shaman, who guides two westerners through the jungle in search of indigenous knowledge. 

The film, shot in black and white, looks at how Westerners have impacted the lives of indigenous peoples. 

 Film contributor, Milos Stehlik of Facets Multimedia, spoke with the film’s director, Ciro Guerra, about the process of filming in the Amazon. 

Embrace of the Serpent is showing at Music Box Theatre in Chicago and at Landmark Renaissance Place in Highland Park.