La Isla - Archives of a Tragedy
Director Uli Stelzner
Countries Germany, Guatemala
Duration 85 min
Synopsis
At the end of the 20th century, in Guatemala army and police kill and abduct hundreds and thousands of people. But the unprecedented genocide in America’s modern history goes unpunished. To this day a system of terror and impunity relies on silence being kept and the lack of evidence. But in July 2005 a huge explosion in the Guatemalan capital leads to the discovery of the historic archive of Guatemala's National Police. On the grounds of today’s Police Academy used to be located the Island, the secret prison of notorious Policia Nacional squads. And here millions of documents appeared. Aided by an extraordinary visual and emotional interaction, the film traces the story of a tragedy and finds prove for inconceivable atrocities. It is also a movie about a young generation of archive workers willing to free their society from the stranglehold of its own history.
At the end of the 20th century, in Guatemala army and police kill and abduct hundreds and thousands of people. But the unprecedented genocide in America’s modern history goes unpunished. To this day a system of terror and impunity relies on silence being kept and the lack of evidence. But in July 2005 a huge explosion in the Guatemalan capital leads to the discovery of the historic archive of Guatemala's National Police. On the grounds of today’s Police Academy used to be located the Island, the secret prison of notorious Policia Nacional squads. And here millions of documents appeared. Aided by an extraordinary visual and emotional interaction, the film traces the story of a tragedy and finds prove for inconceivable atrocities. It is also a movie about a young generation of archive workers willing to free their society from the stranglehold of its own history.