There have been previous documentaries about the Colombia Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group FARC-EP (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army), but director Joris Lachaise’s film takes an alternative view as it delves into the links between trans activists as they stand with disarmed FARC fighters at demos in Bogotá’s red-light district and in FARC camps in the mountains.
He uses as a catalyst the relationship between left-wing intellectual FARC rebel Jaison Murillo (political prisoner and FARC-EP guerrilla) and the formerly apolitical trans former sex worker Laura Catalina as they fall in love in Colombia’s La Picota national prison in 2012.
Interweaving footage filmed across different periods and by the protagonists in various prisons with sequences shot in the streets of Bogota and Colombia jungles, the film focusses on how TransFARC fights its necessary fight, appreciating that it is a struggle against society and class as much it is for trans rights. The title of the film, Transfariana, refers to the female FARC members, the “Farianas”.
The relationship between Jaison and Laura initially causes distrust within FARC and Jaison is expelled for a period, but he eventually manages to dispel such misgivings by calling for a common class struggle.
Laura was imprisoned as a 24-year-old when she was part of a criminal gang that lured and robbed men. She says: ”It wasn’t the life I wanted for myself, but I tried to get out too late and got caught,” and found herself charged with (among a series of things) organised crime, kidnapping, extortion and narcotics and was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
And it was in prison that Laura met Jaison. “It was a shock for the FARC guerrillas that he was interested in me and for a while he was expelled from FARC because of his relationship with me,” she adds.
The film veers between the sodden jungle camps to the vibrant streets of Bogotá’s Santa Fe red-light district. When the peace agreement is signed, putting an end to armed conflict, TransFARC is founded to fight for a society where trans rights are part of the peace treaty and where shared parenthood is possible for trans sex workers such as Daniela “Lulu” Maldonado and Maximo Castellano. As an interviewee says: “The state and paramilitary groups both had their own conception of what society should be and killed those who were not part of that,” referring to trans people.
During discussions in the camps, a former guerrilla who was in jail with Jaison articulates the dilemma. “I lived with Jason for three years in La Picota. He’s one of your comrades from the same group. How will you change the mentality of people who equate homosexuality with being a traitor? They see transexual people as aberrations…if not everyone, then the majority.”
Two-thirds through the film Jaison is released from prison and heads home to see his parents. He explains to them about his relationship with Laura, but later he speaks directly to the camera and offers an updated appraisal of the relationship. Laura, meanwhile, remains in prison fighting her own case.
The film is a fascinating look at a new spin on FARC’s battle – it is not just about bullets and bombs, but is another aspect of a struggle against entrenched and bigoted attitudes in Colombian society. To an extent the film would benefit from more of Jaison and Laura, but the story of how an armed struggle morphs into a fight for trans rights is, without doubt, both intriguing and insightful.
France-Colombia, 2023, 103 mins
Dir/scr: Joris Lachaise
Production: Mujō, Romeo
International sales: MPM Premium
Producers: Raphaèle Dumas, Line Peyron, Guillermo Quintero
Cinematography: Joris Lachaise
Editors: Jérémy Gravayat, Joris Lachaise
Music: Bertrand Wolff
With: Jaison Murillo, Laura Katalina, Daniela “Lulu” Maldonado, Maximo Castellano, Yurani Munoz
