A cardboard cut-out stood in for Ingrid Betancourt, a candidate for the presidency in the crucial Columbian elections of 2002. Voters made their passionate feelings for the kidnapped woman felt despite there being no evidence that she was even alive.

Colombia is in the midst of one of the longest, bloodiest civil wars in history. There are at least two guerilla groups fighting in the mountains, the Narco-Traficantes (typified by cocaine king Pablo Escobar) and one of the most corrupt governments on the planet. People are being kidnapped almost daily and held for ransom, prisoner exchange or just to make a point. They face interrogation, torture and even execution.

Ingrid Betancourt was a civil rights campaigner, green activist and, at the time of her abduction, the leader of the only real opposition to the reigning fraudulent government. She presented a danger to drug lords and shady politicians alike. Suspiciously, a few weeks before an election she seemed sure to win, Betancourt and her campaign manager disappeared. This taut and fearless film documents the lead-up and aftermath of the incident and the increasingly strange events surrounding it.

D/P Karin Hayes, Victoria Bruce WS Films Transit International L English, Spanish w/English subtitles TD Video/Col/2003/76mins

Karin Hayes' films: The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt (2003 co-dir).

Victoria Bruce's films: The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt (2003 co-dir).