Movie buffs can escape the summer heat with a Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) documentary.

Award winning documentary 'The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt' is BIFF August Film Series presentation.

This movie about the events leading up to the disappearance of Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt will screen on Thursday, August 21 at 7.30 pm in the Tradewinds Auditorium at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI).

The film earned the Audience Choice Award at the Slamdance Film Festival, and an Honourable Mention for the Amnesty International Award at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, widely considered the world's top documentary film festival.

"Six years before her rescue on July 2, 2008, Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and became one of the thousands of victims in Colombia's 40-year civil war," said Biff deputy director Duncan Hall. "Using interviews and raw footage, The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt captures the dedication of ordinary Colombians to free their country from corruption and civil war, and provides context for Betancourt's dramatic rescue."

Prior to her kidnapping in February 2002, Betancourt's impassioned calls for an end to political corruption and Colombia's vicious civil war had made her a popular public figure but a dangerous instigator to many within her country's political machine.

"Following the candidate up to the moments before her disappearance, this remarkable film tells the riveting story of her family's desperate quest to free her and keep her campaign alive," said Mr. Hall.

The film will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles. Tickets, $8 for BIFF Film Club members and $10 for non-members, can be reserved by e-mailing the festival at info@biff.bm.