The Search for the History of the Unknown
Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski’s debut film The Memory of Butterflies transports us to the heart of the Amazonian forest, to the roots of a land that saw thousands of people grow and live in peace. It is within these very roots – once a nurturing source for the community’s existence – that rubber was found, and with it, a dark chapter of Peruvian history was written. This discovery led not only to the exploitation of raw materials but also to the abuse and enslavement of the native people who lived in the region. A part of history long hidden in textbooks, it is now accessible through a handful of surviving photographs. Among them is one that moves this story forward: a picture of Omarino and Aredomi, two men whose piercing gaze inspired the director to delve deeper into their identities and uncover how they ended up in London.
Through an aesthetic that plays with time and texture, echoing the way we construct memories and ancient beliefs in circular time, Fuentes Sadowski avoids over-explaining the story and instead immerses us in it. Through brilliant editing (with Fernanda Bonilla, Elizabeth Landesberg), she transports us to the sounds and atmosphere of the Amazonian landscape, skilfully blending archival materials with hand-processed Super 8 footage, black-and-white and sepia tones. These elements help us understand what happened to this population in the late 1800s and early 1900s. As the director told me, using a Super 8mm camera brought them closer to the material, while the black-and-white imagery provided an intimate narrative experience, helping transition seamlessly between past and present, which was ultimately their main goal.
The title Memory of Butterflies (La memoria de las mariposas, 2025), as Fuentes Sadowski explained, references the ancestors of the people who lived through the rubber exploitation. They believed that after death, they would become butterflies. Just as the film honours the past slavery they endured, it also symbolically grants them freedom. By telling their stories, the film restores their dignity and seeks justice through remembrance, based on the limited historical records available.
Through found footage and an experimental approach to texture and film material, Memory of Butterflies deconstructs the past to make sense of it in the present. However, it never attempts to speak over the native voices; instead, it maintains a respectful distance – one that acknowledges the power of Omarino, Aredomi, and countless other nameless individuals who lived through this era.
Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski’s documentary also stands out for its awareness of the mysticism surrounding Amazonian cultures. It does not over-explain emotions or states of existence but rather invites the viewer on a journey of memory – one that reconstructs archival images to fill in the gaps of a history previously told only from the oppressor’s perspective. During the development process, which took over seven years, the filmmaker realised that to truly connect with the characters, she had to go beyond the archives. She embraced what she calls “living archives,” acknowledging that history is continuously shifting, just as the documentary seeks to rewrite and reclaim it.
Memory of Butterflies treats its subject matter with immense care and attention, honouring the memory of all the nameless natives who did not survive this period of slavery and whose suffering never received the recognition it deserved. The film’s sensitivity in handling this history is what makes it stand out.
This is Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski’s debut feature, and it has already received critical acclaim, winning the FIPRESCI Jury Award in the Forum Section of the 75th Berlinale Film Festival, as well as a Special Mention in the Berlinale Documentary Awards.
Sofia Alvarez Salas
Edited by Birgit Beumers
©FIPRESCI