Missing Peace

Before diving into politics, the Colombian Ingrid Betancourt led a protected life with her family in France, her husband's native country. Then she decided to return to her motherland to fight for a better future. For years, Colombia has been torn apart by the violence of drug traffickers, deadly paramilitary groups and the guerrilla movement, FARC. Every year, more than a thousand innocent people are kidnapped by FARC, as a way of forcing the government to release captured guerrilla fighters. Betancourt initially joins the Liberals, but later establishes her own party, Oxygeno. With personal conviction and in vigorous terms, she exposes government corruption and calls for peace. On a brave but perilous mission, in 2002, Betancourt, then a presidential candidate, is kidnapped herself. The film follows her family's persistent yet fruitless attempts to free her. The election campaign continues unabated. With a life-sized portrait of his wife in hand, Ingrid's husband, flanked by Ingrid's sister and mother, enters the fray. They manage to capture over 50,000 votes and guarantee the continuation of the party. Then they receive the first sign of life from Ingrid. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)