Blood Coal
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| 16 years and older |
| German |
| Ground floor, Video Panorama |
Can a murderer – can a murderer forgive himself?
For many years, Germany has been getting a large part of its imported coal from the South American country of Colombia. But there is blood on this coal, a lot of blood and many more tears. El Samario, a former soldier of the paramilitary units in Colombia talks about the countless murders he carried out on behalf of German coal suppliers. For many years, a spiral of violence has been spinning in Colombia, from which not only the companies but also we profit.
This film sheds light on a dark chapter of Colombian everyday life that is so closely linked to ours. It gives voice to both the victims and the perpetrators.
We accompany El Samario as he tries to find forgiveness for his murders. For the first time ever, he meets with bereaved families, relatives of his murder victims. He wants to help them find the remains of their missing relatives. The victims themselves have been struggling for years to find their missing family members.
“Bloody Coal” gives us an insight into the psyche of a contract killer, what and who led him to his deeds and how he deals with his terrible memories and feelings of guilt today.
At the same time, we look at murder, loss and coping with trauma from the victims’ point of view.
Afterwards, we invite you to a panel discussion with the director Christopher Stoeckle, moderated by Oriana Barrera.
Christopher was born in Karlsruhe in 1985. After graduating from high school in 2005, he completed a voluntary social year in a centre for former drug addicts in the Czech Republic. After several internships at TV and commercial film productions, he completed his basic studies in film studies, psychology and journalism at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. In 2010, Christopher transferred to the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg to finally complete his directing studies in 2016 and receive his diploma. After a successful collaboration with the film production company aha! Film GmbH, he started his own business in October 2017 and has been working as a freelance director and cinematographer ever since.
FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION):
2017 GLENCORE IN COLUMBIA, documentary (SRF), 12 min.
– Co-writer, camera, director: Franziska Ramser
2017 GRENZENLOS, promotional film (Eterna), 2:30 min.
– Director, camera, editing
2016 SCHWARZER BODEN, documentary film (ServusTV), 45 min.
– Director, Camera, Editing
Paola was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1980. After graduating from school, she started her own business as a fire actress and worked for clients such as Mercedes-Benz and Trumpf. After studying directing and dramaturgy at the “La Candelaria” theatre in Bogotá, she worked for several years as a director and dramaturge for various theatre projects. In 2006 she emigrated to Germany. With increasing contact to the film industry, she decided in recent years to take the step of becoming self-employed as a sound recordist and producer.
FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION):
2017 GLENCORE IN COLUMBIA, documentary (SRF), 12 min.
– Sound, Director: Franziska Ramser
2016 SCHWARZER BODEN, documentary (ServusTV), 45 min.
– Sound, Director: Christopher Stöckle