Paula Gaitán is, by now, an open secret in contemporary cinema on both sides of the Atlantic. A multidisciplinary artist, trained between Colombia and France, and the artistic and sentimental partner of Glauber Rocha – her participation in the legendary A Idade da Terra (1980) was decisive – her extensive work, which includes Uaká (1988), Diario de Sintra (2007) and Exilados do Vulcão (2013), is a living memory and extension of the debates that shook Latin Americanism and the global cinematic avant-garde forty years ago. Her penultimate work, Luz nos Trópicos (2020), It constitutes a thrilling culmination of a filmography in which the vindication of indigenous communities' ways of life and the relationship between humanity and the natural environment are central aspects. In this work of epic proportions, Gaitán creates a river film in every sense of the word—almost four and a half hours long, during which we embark on a round-trip journey between the icy surfaces of the Hudson and the tropical waters of the Amazon—with which he creates a highly personal review of the history of the American continent. The imposition of a colonial order that threatens to lead to the definitive disappearance of immemorial ways of life acts as the common thread in a film that knows how to portray, like few others, the overwhelming power and mystery of nature. With their latest films, present in the official Filmadrid competition, Paula Gaitán, Geraldo Sarno, and Júlio Bressane certify that the cinematic heritage of which they are custodians remains more alive and militant than ever. GABRIEL DOMÉNECH