Where the River Begins, Juan Andrés Arango’s third feature, has had its world premiere in the Centrepiece programme at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.

Yajaira (Girleza Duave Cerezo) is a strong Emberá woman who lives with her daughter Maria (Ana Michell Nama Dumaza) in the violent Bogotá neighbourhood where she has settled after being forced to leave her birthplace, in the Chocó rainforest, due to paramilitary violence, and has survived selling handiworks on the street. Haunted by dreams of the jungle, she longs to return to the village she once called home. When violence strikes close to her family, she decides it is the right time to embark on that journey. Driven by motives he refuses to reveal, Jhon (Juan David Junca Linares), a charismatic young gang member, becomes an unexpected companion on her dangerous journey to the Andágueda River.

The Colombian-Canadian director certainly has a clear idea of where he wants his film to go. His choice to work with non-professional actors is already a clear directorial statement, and it undoubtedly enhances the film’s almost documentary-like quality. Although this comes at the expense of some of the performances, the overall standard of acting nevertheless remains fairly high. From a technical standpoint, the film is interesting because it alternates between scenes that are absolutely stunning in terms of cinematography (thanks to the contribution of DoP Nicolas Canniccioni) and moments where it seems to struggle a little more. Some scenes appear less polished, visually a bit rougher and more spontaneous, again bringing in that documentary-like feel introduced by the aforementioned casting choices.

Xi Feng’s editing gives the story plenty of room to breathe. The beginning is admittedly quite slow, and it does take some time before we can truly dive into the protagonists’ lives in a way that becomes engaging, but the characters eventually gain the viewer’s sympathy and more importantly, after a while, we become genuinely invested in the story and in their journey. Obviously, the political context and the atmosphere are the film’s greatest strengths. The concept of displacement is clearly at the heart of the story, and while this in itself may not be particularly original – migration journeys and migration-related memories are a recurring theme in film, and have been explored in many different ways, in many different geographical settings –, the film undeniably has a certain power of its own.

At the same time, Where the River Begins does feel like a festival film: it works extremely well in a festival context, but will probably struggle a bit more to reach a broader audience, partly due to the limited appeal that a film with such a measured pace tends to have. Despite not being particularly long, at just 102 minutes, it does not necessarily follow the narrative conventions of the classic journey that audiences are accustomed to seeing in more mainstream cinema. Instead, it is much more contemplative and reflective, and undoubtedly better suited to an audience that can appreciate this kind of narrative rhythm.

Where the River Begins was produced by Midi La Nuit and 12PM (Canada), Inercia Películas (Colombia) and STÆR (Norway). International sales are handled by h264 (Canada).