In the middle of the Colombian coffee region, Aribada, the resurrected monster, meets Las Traviesas, a group of indigenous trans women from the Embera people. The magical, the dreamlike, and the performative coexist in their unique world – an aesthetic and spiritual universe in which documentary and fiction merge into a transcultural narrative. Enchanted by the beauty and power of their ‘jais’ (spirits), Aribada decides to join Las Traviesas in creating their own trans*futurist community.

‘Aribada’, which joins MUBI’s Pride Unprejudiced collection on June 21, offers a unique and poetic work of Indigenous trans futurism. (…) The film uses performance to blur the line between fantasy and reality as it creates a space for Las Traviesas to call their own. It’s an entrancing fever dream with touches of magical realism and traces of drag, all of which firmly celebrate the culture that Las Traviesas call their own while creating something refreshingly new.
Point of View Magazine / Aribada Marks an Exciting New Entry for Two-Spirited Cinema / 20.06.2023

Selection of Festivals, Exhibitions & Awards

Cannes Directors Fortnight 2022, International Premiere, Nominated for the Queer Palm
New York Film Festival 2022, North American Premiere, Official Selection
BFI London Film Festival 2022, UK Premiere, Official Selection
Oberhausen International Short Film Festival 2022, World Premiere, Emerging Talent Prize – German Competition
Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2022, Swiss Premiere, International Competition
Guanajuato International Film Festival 2022, Mexican Premiere, Special Mention – Experimental Film Competition
30_____70 DOC FEST 2022, Italian Premiere, Winner First Prize – Official Selection
Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI) 2022, Colombian Premiere
Cali International Film Festival FICCALI 2022, “María Prize” to the Best Colombian Short Film
Festival de Cine Corto de Popayán 2022, Best Experimental Film, National Competition
She Makes Noise Music and Film Festival 2022, Premiere in Spain 
DAUPARÁ – Indigenous Film and Video Showcase 2022
Maysles Documentary Center 2022
Slamdance Film Festival 2023, Experimental Short Film Competition
Achtung Berlin Film Festival 2023, Best Medium-Length Documentary
Stuttgarter Filmwinter – Festival for Expanded Media 2023, Norman Award – International Short Film Competition
Riga International Short Film Festival 2annas 2023, Latvian Premiere, Best Mid-length Award – International Mid-Length Competition
Vienna Shorts 2023, Austrian Premiere 
Queer Lisboa 2023, Portuguese Premiere
Mostra Ecofalante de Cinema 2023, Brazilian Premiere
AMOR Festival Internacional de Cine LGBT+ 2023, Chilean Premiere
Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen 2023, Dutch Premiere
German Film Critics Association Awards 2023, Nominated in the category Best Short Film 2023
Berlinische Galerie – Museum of Modern Art 2023, Solo Exhibition 
Berlin Art Week – Wilhelm Hallen 2023, Exhibition 
Sharjah Film Platform 6 2023, Premiere in the UAE
Festival Internacional de Cine UNAM – FICUNAM 2023
Filmfest Dresden 2023
UnionDocs – Center for Documentary Art 2023
Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts 2024, ‘Resonance beyond escape: Qworkaholics Anonymous Iii’ (Exhibition), Premiere in Lithuania
Tilde Melbourne Trans & Gender Diverse Film Festival 2024, Premiere in Australia
Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg 2024
Kino Latino Kurzfilmprogramm – Köln 2024
Museo Nacional de Colombia 2024

Credits

Directed by: SIMON(E) JAIKIRIUMA PAETAU & NATALIA ESCOBAR in collaboration with ZAMANTA ENEVIA | Produced by: SIMON(E) JAIKIRIUMA PAETAU & NATALIA ESCOBAR | with “Las Traviesas” – DORIS NEMBAREGAMA, ZAMANTA ENEVIA, BERONIGA TASCON, EMILCE AIZAMA, ANDREA NEMBAREGAMA, KATY TUAVE, BELLA WUASORNA | Script by: FRIEDERIKE HIRZ in collaboration WITH “LAS TRAVIESAS“ | Director of Photography: LUCIANA RISO | Additional Camera: SIMON(E) JAIKIRIUMA PAETAU | Editing: SIMON(E) JAIKIRIUMA PAETAU | Line-producer: JULIANA GUTIÉRREZ VÉLEZ | Production Assistant: ANDRES BECERRA | Associate producer: KRISTINA KONRAD | Art Director: GUILLE MONTIEL | Styling: GUILLE MONTIEL & LAS TRAVIESAS | Sound Design & Mix: RUBÉN VALDÉS | Bar Scene Score: AÉREA NEGROT | Music Screen Scoring: CHRISTIAN GONZÁLEZ (BCLIP) | Hair and Make-Up: ISIS KUAYGAROND, GUILLE MONTIEL & KATY TUAVE | Catering: MARCELA FLOREZ, DOÑA ROSA, DANIELA GARCIA | Still Photography CAMO DELGADO | Supporting Characters: LUISA, DIANA EVAO, KATERINES, LEIDY, LADI LILIANA, ANGELICA, MONIGA, ALEJANDRA TRANS, DIEGO CUBILLOS, DON CLIVIO, NATALIA ESCOBAR. Finishing Compositing & Color Grading: MARTIN BACKHAUS | Dramaturgy Editing: LAURA PAETAU | Title Design: JULIANA GUTIÉRREZ VÉLEZ |  Distribution: LUCÍA GONZÁLEZ GARCÍA

Reviews

‘Creating other images and creating other spaces where we can exist. I believe that transfuturism is very important for that,’ she (Simon*e) states.
El Espectador / The three Colombian works at the Berlinische Galerie / 13.09.2023

A being between worlds: Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau’s videos at the Berlinische Galerie offer new perspectives on queerness and otherness.
Taz / 28.08.2023

The blend of mysticism with reality and culture results in a highly visual short film, a visual performance with a different approach to reveal other realities and contexts. In this sense, it creates a new way of portraying trans communities, far from the white Western gaze.
Bad Hombre Magazine / Aribada: Dive into the world of a futuristic trans community. Queer cinema is alive / 26.06.2023

Interview with Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau & Natalia Escobar
Le Polyester / 21.06.2023

Conversations about being trans are often limited in the mainstream to the white, middle-class, European or (North) American experience, relying on the conventional “Hero’s Journey” narrative, as it is considered quite consumable (…). ‘Aribada’ is part of a movement in experimental (for a long time) and arthouse (recently) cinema that completely disregards the tragic acceptance of this conventional framework and instead seeks a happy new way to understand the diverse variations of FLINTA lives.
Film Löwin / Starke neue Stimmen auf dem 35. Filmfest Dresden / 04.05.2023 

Half Jaguar, Half Human: A Journey through the Film ‘Aribada’
Cinergia Revista / 11.2022

Sacred Awera – A Conversation w/ Directors Natalia Escobar & Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau
Vocal Media / Autumn, 2022

‘Aribada’, Colombian Presence at Cannes Film Festival
El Espectador / 22.05.2022 

Culture is structural
Revista Cambio / 22.03.2022

‘Creating images that go beyond visibility,’ that is what Colombian-German filmmaker Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau seeks to convey in his short films and movies, which exemplify other experiences of the LGBTIQ+ community through effigies.
El Heraldo / Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau offers a new perspective on gender cinema. / 04.04.2022