"The Silence Of Others:" New Film Warns Against Fascist Spain Repeating Itself

Dec. 6, Democracy Now! A far-right, anti-immigrant, anti-abortion political party in Spain has made gains in regional elections, prompting protests in the streets. Members of Spain’s younger generation are too young to remember the brutal 40-year military dictatorship under General Francisco Franco.

But a remarkable new documentary titled “The Silence of Others,” or “El Silencio de Otros,” hopes to remind Spaniards of the country’s fascist past, lest history repeat itself. The film follows several survivors of the Franco regime in their pursuit of justice.>> We speak with Spanish filmmaker Almudena Carracedo, who, along with Robert Bahar, wrote, produced and directed “The Silence of Others.” https://thesilenceofothers.com/
- Transcript:
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: On Monday, thousands marched across southern Spain to protest the rise of the far-right Vox party, which recently won multiple seats in a regional parliamentary election in Andalusia. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon threw his support behind Vox earlier this year and has apparently been advising the far-right party. Vox campaigned on an anti-immigrant, anti-abortion platform and has many worried about the rise of far-right political populism in Spain. This is Ana Gonzalez, a resident of Madrid.

ANA GONZALEZ: Unfortunately, I think they will keep on rising. And I think it’s like a marketing technique, as the one Trump had. I think it’s very dangerous, because it’s a marketing technique which is gathering people and taking them on its side, people that perhaps don’t have a very clear ideology.

AMY GOODMAN: Vox’s victory marks the first successful election for the far right in Spain since the country returned to democracy in the '70s after the death of the fascist military dictator Francisco Franco. Today, many Spaniards are too young to remember General Franco's brutal 40-year dictatorship, but a remarkable new film hopes to remind the younger generation of Spain’s past, lest history repeat itself. The film is called The Silence of Others. It follows a number of survivors of General Franco’s regime in their pursuit of justice as they organize an international lawsuit to investigate crimes against humanity. This is the film’s trailer.

XABIER ARZALLUZ: It’s simply a forgetting, an amnesty for all, by all, a forgetting for all, by all.
MARÍA MARTÍN: I was 6 years old when they came for my mother. This is the gravesite. This is the mass grave.
JOSÉ MARÍA GALANTE: I lived just meters from the person who tortured me.
MARÍA MARTÍN: The thing is, all this has been covered up until now.
CARLOS SLEPOY: There’s not a town in Spain without victims of the Franco regime, right?
UNIDENTIFIED: We want our children, alive or dead.
JOSÉ MARÍA GALANTE: This is not about looking at the past. We’re fighting for the future. -Continued...

More, https://www.democracynow.org/2018/12/6/the_silence_of_others_new_film

*"No More Silence: Franco’s victims raise their voices. Stolen babies, torture, mass graves. Spain’s historic scandals have been hidden by decades of ‘national amnesia’. A new documentary aims to change all that." The Guardian, Oct. 20, 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/20/no-more-silence-my-mission-to-let-franco-victims-be-heard