Heroes Do Exist in Colombia was the name of the first major military propaganda campaign rolled out during ex-president Alvaro Uribe's (2002-2010) Democratic Security Policy.

The government's publicists reached for the hearts and minds of Colombians using emotional narratives of war and by constructing an image of the military based on the figure of hero and protector of a population vulnerable in the face of a guerrilla insurgency.

Aimed at convincing Colombians of the need for a security policy at any cost, the propaganda strategy also served as a way to conceal the reproachable role of the government during one of the cruelest periods of the armed conflict marked by paramilitary violence, political corruption and the military practice of inflating body counts by killing innocent civilians.

Aiming for the Heart shows how publicity campaigns become yet another battle ground in the armed conflict, trying to legitimize a war through propaganda and win the support of a divided society.

Direction: Claudia Gordillo and Bruno Federico
Original Idea: Claudia Gordillo
Research Assistant: Camilo Medina
Photography and editing: Bruno Federico
Production: Dance Stationary
Music: Music Multimedia
Illustrations: Snif
Duration: 52 minutes
Country: Colombia
Year: 2013