The Echo of Pain of the Many (Guatemala, 90 minutes, 2011) from Armadillo Productions on Vimeo.

April 16, 2012

Shared by Emily Willard, Research Associate, Evidence Project

The National Security Archive

You are invited to attend the North American Premiere of the documentary film, "The Echo of Pain of the Many," which follows the profound story of Ana Lucia Cuevas' search for her brother Carlos Cuevas, who was disappeared by Guatemalan security forces in 1984. 

The film screening will be followed by a discussion and Q&A session with the director, Ana Lucia Cuevas, Guatemalan journalist and activist Iduvina Hernandez,and representatives from Amnesty International, the National Security Archive, and Institute of Policy Studies. 

The premiere is taking place at 5:30pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 in the Lindner Family Commons at the George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052.

Admission is free of charge.

Please RSVP to Emily at ewillard@gwu.edu

See trailer here: http://vimeo.com/11162712

SYNOPSIS:

In ‘The Echo of Pain of the Many’ we witness a moving, thought-provoking and rare documentary by a Latin American woman, recording her return from exile and into the still dangerous and volatile political environment of contemporary Guatemala. Filmed over the course of four years, writer-?director Ana Lucia Cuevas discovers, through the archived records of the perpetrators of the crimes themselves, the involvement of her own government and foreign Intelligence Services in the abduction, torture and murders of her brother and his young family.

At each stop on what becomes an emotional and investigative as well as cinematic journey, from meeting with political analyst Noam Chomsky in the USA, on to travelling across the breadth of Guatemala, visiting police archives, mass ‘clandestine’ graves, indigenous communities who have suffered genocide, and the first trials in over 25 years of those responsible, one piece after another of this puzzle of a personal and national tragedy is brought into focus by the filmmaker.

This remarkable debut feature documentary is also, in equal parts, a forensic examination of historical evidence, and a testament to how the endurance of love can overcome fear in one woman’s, and a nation’s search for justice and an end to impunity. ‘The Echo’ is a remarkable story of one family, but provides the starting point and context to understand the tragic events that led, in Guatemala, to their 45,000 ‘disappearances’ amongst civilians and the political opposition to dictatorship.