La isla — Archives of a Tragedy

NEW DOCS

“This is where justice begins—finding out the truth, the whole truth.” In 2005, in the capital city of Guatemala, an explosion rocked a police barrack and the resulting investigation led to the shocking discovery of a secret police archive. Today, 190 people are employed to review and report on the records found in the archive. Many come upon information about their families. Others uncover atrocities too gruesome to imagine. All work together to bring to light what happened to tens of thousands of people who vanished during the 36-year civil war in Guatemala. Some find peace in knowing “the names of the students, teachers, workers, peasants [previously] hidden in the consciences of soldiers.” Somber and contemplative, this film is a multi-layered, artistically drawn elegy to the thousands of people murdered by the army and secret police.  WFM

Director

Uli Stelzner

Producers

Uli Stelzner, Elke Benz, Zoran Solomun

Editor

Alina Teodorescu

Cinematographer

Guillermo Escalón

Release Year

2009

Festival Year

2010

Country

Germany, Guatemala

Run Time

85 minutes

Premiere

US Premiere