Embrace of the Serpent
“A poetic and haunting journey into a lost world.”
The epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-transcending friendship, between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman, last survivor of his people, and two scientists that, over the course of 40 years, travel through the Amazon in search of a sacred plant that can heal them. Inspired by the journals of the first explorers of the Colombian Amazon, Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes.
Where to watch
Philo
Stream
Night Flight Plus
Stream
OVID
Stream
Fandor
Stream
Cineverse
Stream
Kanopy
Free
Your rating
Your review
Cast
9 people
Nilbio Torres
Karamakate (Young)
No other roles listed
Antonio Bolívar
Karamakate (Old)
Known for
Green Frontier
Jan Bijvoet
Theodor Koch-Grunberg
Known for
Into the Night
Peaky Blinders
Brionne Davis
Richard Evans Schultes
Known for
Mom and Dad
Rest Stop: Don't Look Back
Yauenkü Miguee
Manduca
No other roles listed
Luigi Sciamanna
The Missionary
Also in
Reverón
The Astronaut
Nicolás Cancino
The Messiah
Also in
Roa
El Reemplazante
Pediwake Daniel Martínez
Santiago
No other roles listed
José Sabogal
The Rubber Trapper
No other roles listed
Ciro Guerra Director · Jacques Toulemonde Writer Nascuy Linares Composer
Worldwide gross $1.3M · Budget $1.4M · United States release February 17, 2016
Box office
Budget
$1,400,000
Worldwide gross
$1,320,005
Gross vs. budget
0.9×
Production
Nortesur Producciones
Production
Buffalo Films
Production
Caracol Televisión
Production
Ciudad Lunar
Production
MC Producciones
Production
Dago García Producciones
Production
Buffalo Producciones
Production
Argentina · Colombia · Venezuela
Produced in
Languages
Original title
El abrazo de la serpiente
Original language
Spanish
Spoken on screen
Catalan · German · Latin · Portuguese · Spanish
Release dates
France · May 15, 2015
Premiere · Cannes Film Festival, Directors Fortnight
Colombia · May 25, 2015
Theatrical
United States · February 17, 2016
Limited theatrical
United States
September 26, 2015 · Premiere · Charlotte Film Festival
Argentina
February 18, 2016 · Theatrical
Armenia
July 14, 2015 · Premiere · Golden Apricot Film Festival
Austria
October 30, 2015 · Premiere · Vienna International Film Festival
Bosnia & Herzegovina
August 19, 2015 · Premiere · Sarajevo Film Festival
Canada
September 12, 2015 · Premiere · Toronto International Film Festival
Czechia
July 3, 2015 · Premiere · Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Denmark
May 19, 2016 · Theatrical
Finland
October 21, 2015 · Theatrical
France
December 23, 2015 · Theatrical
Germany
June 28, 2015 · Premiere · Munich International Film Festival
Greece
October 3, 2015 · Premiere · Athens Film Festival
March 31, 2016 · Theatrical
November 18, 2016 · Physical · DVD
Hungary
September 24, 2015 · Theatrical
Iceland
September 26, 2015 · Premiere · Reykjavik International Film Festival
Ireland
June 10, 2016 · Digital
Israel
September 27, 2015 · Premiere · Haifa Film Festival
Japan
November 7, 2015 · Digital
Netherlands
March 31, 2016 · Theatrical
August 23, 2016 · Physical · DVD
New Zealand
July 22, 2015 · Premiere · New Zealand International Film Festival
Poland
July 25, 2015 · Premiere · New Horizons Film Festival
Portugal
April 7, 2016 · Theatrical
Spain
February 19, 2016 · Theatrical
Ukraine
July 17, 2015 · Premiere · Odessa International Film Festival
United Kingdom
June 10, 2016 · Theatrical
September 12, 2016 · Physical · DVD
More from Ciro Guerra
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked Embrace of the Serpent
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.