''Garras de oro'' (''Golden Claws''), also known as ''Alborada de justicia'' (''Dawn of Justice''), is a 1927 Colombian silent film.

Background

The direction of the film is credited to "P.P. Jambrina", which was a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

used by Alfonso Martínez Velasco, who became mayor of

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

from September 1930 to September 1931. The film is a fierce critique of United States policy towards Latin America, focusing in particular on the United States' backing of Panamanian separatists that led to the partition of the former Isthmus Department from Colombia. The film's opening

intertitle In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...

reads: "This film-novel is to protect from the oblivion of memory an important episode in modern history, which by fortune became the first stone in a landslide that tore apart our

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and battered our eagles." It is believed that all actors and staff involved in the film employed pseudonyms in order to avoid the fallout from what in 1926 was still a very polemical subject in Colombia. The film was censored by the Colombian government upon its release. It subsequently faded from the public view and was thought lost for decades. It was found and restored by the

Fundación Patrimonio Fílmico Colombiano The Fundación Patrimonio Fílmico Colombiano is a film archive in Bogotá, Colombia. See also * List of film archives This is a list of film archives and cinematheques. Film archives collect, restore, investigate and conserve audiovisual ...

, though only the film's beginning, end, as well as another three reels' worth of footage has been found. The restoration of the extant footage was screened in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 2008, followed by a second screening at the

Guadalajara International Film Festival The Guadalajara International Film Festival () is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara since 1986. The presence in Guadalajara of delegates from other important festivals from around the world has helped M ...

in 2009. The film has since been referred to as the first anti-imperialist film.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0257703 1927 films Colombian silent films 1920s rediscovered films Colombian black-and-white films Colombian drama films 1927 drama films Rediscovered Colombian films Silent drama films