In the violent and complex conflict that has racked Colombia, the most vulnerable are always the most affected. The URABÁ TRILOGY presents the stories of Afro-colombian peasants displaced from their land in the armed conflict between the national army, Colombian guerillas, and the right-wing paramilitary in the isolated province of the Chocó.

Marta Palma is just one of the countless refugees left homeless and profoundly traumatized by Colombia's 50-year long civil war. Together with her children, Marta watched helplessly as her husband died of bullet wounds inflicted by guerrillas. Marta and her children flee their village and attempt to reconstruct a life in the town of Turbo, where family and friends help them get back on their feet. At the age of 45, Marta becomes ill and dies. Is it the trauma, heartache, or senseless violence that surrounds her that lead to her illness? With heart-wrenching interviews, black and white photographs, and footage of aftermath of a guerilla massacre, AN EMPTY HOUSE FALLS makes real the hardship endured by the victims of Colombia's complex war.

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El documental es un intenso testimonio que nos dio Marta Palma en el año de 1999, en el coliseo de Turbo donde vivieron tres años las comunidades Afrocolombianas desplazadas del Chocó. La violencia del desplazamiento, la vida en el puerto de Turbo, en un barrio obrero, trabajando sin ningún medio para educar a sus cuatro hijos, la soledad y la pérdida de su esposo, llevan a Marta a enfermarse de pena moral, para finalmente morir en agosto del año 2002. Es a su memoria que dedicamos este documental, como un homenaje a su lucha, a su resistencia y como un doloroso ejemplo de las madres que en Colombia, víctimas de la violencia y el desplazamiento, mueren prematuramente dejando un país lleno de huérfanos.

Marta Rodríguez et Fernando Restrepo, Colombia, 2004, 52', ST ANG