Old DC-3s are the lifeline for residents of the Colombian Amazon. The film crew joins one of the planes on a flight to remote settlements. But this connection is under threat, and without it communities will face total isolation.
The Colombian Amazon is so impenetrable that some regions can only be reached by plane. For decades, DC-3 aircraft have been vital to survival in the remotest parts of the jungle. But this lifeline is at risk of being cut, because insurance companies are no longer willing to cover the aging planes. Only two DC-3s still make the journey to remote locations in the Amazon.
The film crew accompanies the pilot of one of these aircraft on a number of flights from Villavicencio to San Felipe, a distance of nearly 800 kilometers with stops along the way. The pilot, who has always flown a DC-3, sees the end of his flying career approaching. He looks back on happy memories, but also on the fierce fighting between the army, paramilitary groups and guerrillas during the drug war. A waste picker, once a farmer, lost his land in the drug war, illustrating how civilians had no protection under the law at the time. The violence has subsided, but the needs of the people still go unaddressed by the government. Their unanswered calls to keep the DC-3 connection in the air are a prime example.