'The Silence of Others' Film: Survivors of Spain's Franco Dictatorship Seek Justice

Last edited Sat Oct 5, 2019, 06:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Trailer for the new documentary; video on PBS through Oct. 14, 2019. This powerful new film made over 6 years centers on victims of the repressive Francoist regime in Spain (1939-1975) who seek justice and answers to this day after decades of silence imposed in the time of Spain's post-Franco democracy. Spain's bloody Civil War (1936-1939) was followed by the 40-year dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco until his death in 1975 during which individuals, families and nearly every town saw political repression, torture and killings. The theft of infants by state sponsored eugenics policy is exposed by surviving mothers. The film examines the impacts of the 1977 Amnesty Law and the “pact of forgetting” that facilitated Spain’s return to democracy after Franco’s death in 1975.

WATCH on PBS (83 mins.). Until Oct. 14, 2019
http://www.pbs.org/pov/watch/silenceofothers/video-the-silence-of-others/

Franco's cruel legacy: the film that wants to stop Spain forgetting. The Silence of Others, backed by Pedro Almodóvar, seeks to end amnesia over dictator’s victims. The Guardian, June 8, 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/08/francos-cruel-legacy-film-wants-stop-spain-forgetting-silence-others

The general and dictator Francisco Franco (1892-1975) ruled over Spain from 1939 until his death. He rose to power during the bloody Spanish Civil War when, with the help of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, his Nationalist forces overthrew the democratically elected Second Republic. Adopting the title of “El Caudillo” (The Leader), Franco persecuted political opponents, repressed the culture and language of Spain’s Basque and Catalan regions, censured the media and otherwise exerted absolute control over the country. Some of these restrictions gradually eased as Franco got older, and upon his death the country transitioned to democracy. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/francisco-franco

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War