Grounded

The Colombian Amazon is so impenetrable that some regions can only be reached by plane. For decades, DC-3 aircraft have been crucial to survival in the remotest parts of the jungle.

Grounded brings this vital connection to the fore, as the crew accompanies a pilot approaching his retirement on a number of flights from Villavicencio to San Felipe—a distance of nearly 800 kilometers with stops along the way. From his cockpit, overlooking the winding river and the vast forest, he looks back on happy memories, but also on the fierce fighting between the army, paramilitary groups and guerrillas during the drug war. At one of the destinations we meet La Mona, who runs a local store where she trades the cargo and sells passenger tickets, and a waste picker, once a farmer, who lost his land in the drug war.

Meanwhile Giovanna, manager of the company that operates the only two surviving commercial DC-3s in Colombia, fights a hard battle to prevent them from being grounded. Since insurance companies are no longer willing to cover the aging planes, this lifeline is now at risk of being cut.