North American Premiere
In Colombia’s La Guajira desert, three Wayuu guardians are fighting to protect their ancestral land, water, and spiritual traditions. When a reservoir promised to local communities was instead diverted to serve a polluting mine, it removed access to drinking water; now, wind-energy companies are claiming vast areas of Wayuu territory, erecting wind farms on sacred burial grounds and offering little in return. Against this backdrop of corporate exploitation and broken government promises, the Wayuu are once again being asked to sacrifice their land and traditions for someone else’s future.
Made with profound artistic sensitivity, The Wind’s Thirst documents the Wayuu community members, weaving together their intimate testimonies and poetic stories with striking images of La Guajira. While painfully specific, the film reveals a universal pattern of the promise of progress, as Indigenous communities fight to protect what has sustained them for generations. Ultimately, The Wind’s Thirst is about endurance and imagining a future for the Wayuu on their land: “Governments come and go, but we will always be here.”
Media Partner
Community Partner
Canada/Colombia
2026
In Wayunaiikii and Spanish with English subtitles
Open to youth at VIFF Centre
At Fifth Ave
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Alejandro Valbuena
Screenwriter
Alejandro Valbuena
Cinematography
Alejandro Valbuena
Editor
Federico Casteñada
Original Music
Andres Galindo
Alejandro Valbuena
Alejandro Valbuena is an Arawak filmmaker working across fiction and documentary, and his films explore communities the industry has never looked at. His debut documentary, The Wind’s Thirst (2026), was shot over five years inside the Wayuu community of La Guajira; it premiered at Sheffield DocFest 2026, won the Hot Docs Breakthrough Pitch, and travelled through Cannes Docs, Docs Barcelona, and Eurodoc. His fiction feature Carnarium received a Telefilm Springboard invitation. He is an EFM Toolbox, Eurodoc, and DOC alumnus.
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