Your Witness — A Letter to Iceland
Short documentary film
For seventeen years, a photographer travelled the length and breadth of Iceland on more than thirty expeditions. He could never have imagined that his camera would end up documenting the transformation of an entire country: the glaciers he photographed as if they were eternal, the very same places that today tourism — the very same tourism he helped to promote as a guide — has changed forever.

This personal archive now takes the form of an intimate letter addressed to the landscape itself, interwoven with the real-life account of an Icelandic farmer who experienced first-hand the financial collapse of 2008 and the tourism boom that followed. All of this is condensed into less than 27 minutes and is also backed up by data from the country’s main statistical sources and media outlets.
The short documentary is a highly effective tool for raising awareness at film festivals.
Having produced several feature-length films with the support of friends and patrons — giving a voice to affected communities through an independent and truthful lens — we are now turning to the art-house short film format to reach a different audience and market, one more attuned to the intimate reflection offered by Tu Testigo.
Project objectives:
- To fund the recording of the final voice-over with a human narrator, replacing the temporary AI-generated narration.
- Complete the sound post-production, colour grading and final editing of the short film.
- Give visibility to the testimonies of local Icelandic communities affected by mass tourism.
- Screen the film at leading international festivals to reach the widest possible audience.
- To prompt an honest reflection on the responsibility inherent in the very act of looking at and photographing a landscape.
- To preserve, through the audiovisual archive, a record of the ever-changing Icelandic landscape.
This project stems from seventeen years of returning to Iceland, guiding photographers and seeing with my own eyes how tourism is transforming a land I love. It does not seek to criticise from the outside, but rather to take personal responsibility as a photographer and guide who was part of that change. The archive and narrative are already in place: all that remains is the final step — a definitive human voice and a professional finish that do justice to seventeen years of work before the film is submitted to festivals.
Who is it aimed at
- Lovers of nature and travel photography, especially those who know or have visited Iceland.
- Audiences for auteur documentaries, film essays and unconventional storytelling.
- People concerned about sustainable tourism and the impact of mass tourism on fragile landscapes.
- The documentary film community and short film festivals.
- Those who value autobiographical and honest stories, without moralising discourses or definitive answers.
Previous experience

Francisco Javier Fernández Bordonada (Chavi) has spent years working as a tour guide and photographer specialising in landscape and aerial photography for sectors such as agri-food and tourism.
In recent years, he has compiled an extensive personal archive on climate change and depopulation — the very same material that now forms the basis of Tu Testigo.
His career as a director includes: (see IMDb)
‘El Paisaje del Olivar’ (2021) — debut documentary feature, with over 25 international awards and accolades.
“The Spanish Horse: The Origin” (2023) — a historical journey through the history of the Spanish horse, narrated by experts from the equestrian world; distributed worldwide by the production company X4 Pictures (Los Angeles), with over 30 selections and awards at independent film festivals in its first six months.
“Mountains in Harmony” (2024) — a documentary on the disappearance of extensive livestock farming, property speculation and economic interests in ski resorts, as well as the real threats to the rural landscape and its inhabitants.
‘Renovables Forzosas’ (2025) — on the energy transition in Andalusia and its effects on rural property.
This track record demonstrates a pattern of great relevance to patrons: this is not the first time Chavi has transformed tensions between landscape, territory and economic interests into an auteur documentary with a genuine festival circuit — it is his natural terrain.
Team
Tu Testigo is produced by Bordonada Films, which handles the screenplay, direction, production, editing and cinematography in a one-person auteur model — consistent with the intimate nature of the film, and already proven to yield international success in his previous projects. This is complemented by the active collaboration of Almar Sigurson (Lambastadir farm, Selfoss), whose testimony provides the Icelandic voice for the documentary, as well as the collaboration of Mariano Espallargas and Mar de Dios Rodriguez as associate producers, and Teresa Rivera Galán and Felipe Dávila as camera assistants in 2015 and 2016.