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| The Silence of Others poster ©2018 Cinephil |
“The Silence of Others” is an award-winning documentary that bravely appraises the truth of the enforced disappearances under the Franco regime.
This insightful non-fiction work revives memories of a country forced to forget the unhealed wounds of repression and of the people who never give up pursuing the bull’s-eye.
This documentary, produced by Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar, brings to light the disappearance of hundreds of individuals ordered by the Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco and his cronies four decades later.
After Franco’s passing in 1975, the new administration offered the killers, abusers, and torturers an amnesty. That atrocity was called the “Pact of Forgetting.” The agreement certainly did not do justice to the thousands of victims, who, after their disenchantment, had to leave their country to prosecute the criminals globally.
The “Pact of Forgiveness” is forbidden by the UN. Crimes against humanity cannot be condoned by the statute of limitations of a partisan judiciary power, nor fall into mass amnesia in Spain or any democratic country.
“The Silence of Others” executed a meticulous investigation to identify the victims of those crimes committed by the armed forces – involuntary disappearances, mass graves, and kidnapping of newborn babies.
Paradoxically, as with any other government in the world, there are still people who lived comfortably during Franco’s era and feel nostalgia for the right-wing achievements.
Paradoxically, as with any other government in the world, there are still people who lived comfortably during Franco’s era and feel nostalgia for the right-wing achievements.
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| Robert Bahar, co-director. The Silence of Others. Photo José A. Hermosillo ©2018 Festival in LA |
Documentarian Robert Bahar and his wife, Almudena Carracedo, worked on this project for seven years. They spent hundreds of hours interviewing people, visiting locations, traveling to different countries, and editing the project for fourteen months.
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| The Silence of Others ©2018 Cinephil. |
Time is the protagonist in this film – war criminals who die without serving time. Beloved characters also died without seeing justice. For instance, the brokenhearted old lady who places flowers on the side of the highway yearning for a missing one, pointing under where the mass graves are located. Others still remember their parents, brothers and sisters, and stolen babies.
Spain has countless victims claiming acknowledgment, lawlessness, and proper compensation.
Other conscious survivors became activists and fought in the courts. They pressured judges internationally and kept the cases open. They also found an ally in the Argentine judge Maria Romilda Servini de Cubria, who traveled to Spain to bring Franco’s generals to a fair trial.
Other conscious survivors became activists and fought in the courts. They pressured judges internationally and kept the cases open. They also found an ally in the Argentine judge Maria Romilda Servini de Cubria, who traveled to Spain to bring Franco’s generals to a fair trial.
In the international arena, other troubled places followed Spain’s path to justice outside their borders: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Uganda.
One can feel hopeless because it takes too long to get things done in court. One step forward, two steps back, until one day people can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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| The Silence of Others ©2018 Cinephil |
“The Silence of Others” is a superb documentary produced by a group of very talented people. Their impressive work includes the stunning cinematography by its co-director, Almudena Carracedo.
Ricardo Acosta, Kim Roberts, and Mrs. Carracedo were responsible for the needlepoint editing. Leonardo Heiblum and Jacobo Lieberman composed the haunting music.
Pedro Almodóvar presents this Oscar-worthy documentary as part of the official selection of the Los Angeles Film Festival.
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| IDA (International Documentary Association) screening. Photo José A. Hermosillo ©2018 Festival in LA |
The Berlinale Panorama 2018 Audience Award-winning documentary also won the Pare Audience Award from the International Documentary Association (IDA). “The Silence of Others” has been shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at the 2019 Academy Awards and is scheduled for theatrical release in the USA in Spring 2019.
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| Robert Bahar, director: The Silence of Others. Film critic José A. Hermosillo ©2018 Festival in LA |
“The Silence of the Others” is a cornerstone document that demands justice and democracy. It deserves to be witnessed by everyone, including the younger generation, who want to see a positive change in the world.
THE SILENCE OF OTHERS TRAILER
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Festival in LA ©2018
