The Silence of Others

The story of the tortuous struggle against the silence of the victims of the dictatorship imposed by General Franco after the victory of the rebel side in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1975). In a democratic country, but still ideologically divided, the survivors seek justice as they organize the so-called “Argentinian lawsuit” and denounce the legally sanctioned pact of oblivion that intends to hide the crimes they were subjects of.

"Soon after the death of General Francisco Franco, the Spanish parliament granted amnesty to anyone involved in the dictator’s thuggery, and passed El Pacto del Olvido – ‘the pact of forgetting’ – in the name of national unity and progress. But not everyone in Spain has been willing to forget, let alone forgive. Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar’s powerful documentary, executive-produced by Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar, tells the stories of three people who are campaigning to bring Franco’s surviving henchmen to justice. “Unfolding with all the force of a classic political thriller by Costa-Gavras or Francesco Rosi,” writes Allan Hunter in Screen International, “The Silence of Others emerges as a moving salute to the small victories of determined individuals.”