Director Lucrecia Martel has released "Landmarks," a documentary exploring the murder trial of Indigenous man Javier Chocobar in Argentina.
The film highlights the systemic erasure of Indigenous peoples and the violent consequences of land theft by corporate interests. By focusing on a specific criminal case, Martel connects individual tragedy to broader post-colonial tensions and the struggle for territorial rights.
Also titled "Nuestra Tierra," the documentary examines the legal proceedings surrounding Chocobar's death. Court hearings for the murder began in 2018 [1]. The case centers on three mining entrepreneurs who were accused of killing Chocobar [2]. The film suggests that the murder was tied to the theft of land from the Indigenous community where the victim lived.
The production first reached an international audience when it premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival [5]. Following its festival run, the documentary opened in theaters on May 1, 2026 [3].
Martel uses the trial as a lens to view the intersection of corporate greed and state failure. The narrative follows the impact of the crime on the local community, a group fighting to maintain their ancestral lands against industrial encroachment. The film portrays the legal battle not just as a search for a killer, but as a confrontation with the history of displacement in Argentina.
Reviews published this week describe the work as a disturbing account of true crime and systemic injustice [4]. The film aims to expose how mining interests can operate with impunity while Indigenous voices are marginalized by the judicial system.
“The film highlights the systemic erasure of Indigenous peoples and the violent consequences of land theft.”
The release of 'Landmarks' brings international attention to the ongoing conflict between extractive industries and Indigenous land rights in South America. By framing land theft as a catalyst for murder, the film argues that corporate expansion in Argentina often relies on the erasure of native populations and the failure of the legal system to protect them.
