Film shines light on forgotten Franco-era victims

'La desmemoria de España' dedicated to victims of Franco regime and their families. Photo: Ébano Media via Vimeo
Share now:

• ‘La desmemoria de España’ faults lack of political will to face Franco-era past
• Justice for victims of Franquista repression hampered by collective amnesia

A new documentary film shown by the Cineteca de Madrid to mark the 85th anniversary of the proclamation of the Spanish Second Republic faults what it portrays as Spanish society’s collective amnesia and lack of political will since the Democratic Transition period of the 1980s to uncover the truth about what happened to thousands of victims of the Franco regime whose remains still languish in nearly 1,800 unmarked graves nationwide.

La desmemoria de España, a film produced by Ébano Media and directed by Spanish journalist Jon Cuesta, uses a combination of archival footage and interviews to recount the chronology of Franco-era repression and Spaniards’ subsequent collective unwillingness to confront the past. Among those interviewed for the film are:
► Ian Gibson, historian and biographer of Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca, executed by firing squad at the outset of the Civil War;
► Francisca “Paca” Sauquillo, former Socialist party Senator, president of the Movimiento por la Paz (Movement for Peace) and recently appointed by Madrid mayor Manuela Carmena to head the city’s new “Historic Memory” commission; and,
► Emilio Silva, president of the Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica (Association for the Recovery of Historic Memory).

► Read More in Spanish at El Día and El Plural …

First aired as a special report in December 2015 on TeleSur, La desmemoria de España currently can be viewed online at YouTube, here.

► ► CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH DOCUMENTARY ► ►

Click here to Sign Up for Progressive Spain News Updates via E-Mail ► ►

Share now: