WHO SHOT MY BROTHER?
Sunday April 30, 2006 at 10pm ET/PT on CBC Newsworld


Twenty-thousand Colombians die a violent death every year. An average of two people die every hour. This shocking fact hit home for Montreal-based filmmaker Germán Gutiérrez when he received a phone call from his homeland informing him that there had just been an assassination attempt on his older brother Oscar.

Gripped by both fear and anger, Gutiérrez sets out to find the hired gunmen who made the assassination attempt. His search for answers becomes his film Who Shot My Brother?, a portrait of Oscar Gutiérrez, a man who has continually fought against Colombia's rampant corruption. The film exposes the lawless society the country has become, while also offering glimpses of its remarkable vitality and endurance.

Idolized by the poor and loathed by the political elite, Oscar is the only leftist member of his regional assembly. Long a champion for Colombia's disenfranchised, he advocates dialogue, not bullets, to bring about political change. Yet, ironically, Oscar is now forced to carry a gun and requires the protection of bodyguards.

Who Shot My Brother? reveals a larger political picture. Unlike most South American countries, Colombia's government values their relationship with the U. S. so highly that it is often complicit in the corruption that plagues its society. Viewers will see top-secret footage confirming the involvement of unofficial American military personnel in operations in Colombia.

Through the camera lens, the filmmaker seeks to understand not just why his brother nearly became another statistic, but why Oscar and so many other political militants in that dangerous country have risked their lives for their cause. The film is the recipient of the 2005 Radio-Canada People's Choice Award at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema de Montreal.

Who Shot My Brother? is directed by Germán Gutiérrez. It was produced by Yves Bisaillon of The National Film Board and Carmen Garcia of Argus Films in association with CBC Newsworld.