Venezuela’s problems get big-screen attention in this revealing feature about an alcoholic (played masterfully by Jorge Thielen Hedderich) who flees his big-city problems to find his old shack in the jungle. But his old friends there are caught up in the dangerous hunt for gold, as portrayed in rugged mining scenes that take on an almost documentary feel. Things don’t go well, but the movie grips till the finish.
Filmmaker Jorge Thielen Armand recently answered some questions via email.
What inspired this story? Was it related to any real-world events or a personal connection?
La fortaleza is inspired by my father’s true stories of living in the Venezuelan Amazon jungle and his struggles with addiction. I casted my actual father to play himself, or a version of himself; the other actors are all non-professionals too, and they know my father from when he lived there in the ‘90s. I made this film to go back to Venezuela, to go back to a place of our memories, to spend time with my father, to confront our pains, to immortalize his image, his story, and the landscapes of a country in a process of self-destruction.