The Goya awards a documentary about the victims of Franco's regime filmed over seven years

'The Silence of the Others', directed by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, wins the Goya for Best Documentary Film.

The silence of others, documentary Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar which captures the silenced struggle of the victims of Franco's regime, who continue to seek justice today, has achieved recognition from the Film Academy with a Goya. Filmed over seven years, the film follows the victims and survivors of the Franco regime as they organize the so-called “Argentine quarrel.”

For Almudena Carracedo, the Goya “is a prize for the fight for historical memory and for the fight of thousands and thousands of victims, those who died and those who survived and demand justice.”

The development of this project was not easy, since it took seven years between preparation and production. To this we must add important work to guarantee financing. All of this meant full-time dedication for the directors, which included locating several of the victims in various countries.

The authors consider that the fact that one was Spanish and the other American served to complement the view on the subject, since, according to Carracedo, "it was clear that the film should not be made from an external perspective, but one had to keep in mind that from the inside you have a series of created opinions that must be questioned from the outside."

Asked about how different peoples confront the ghosts of their past, Robert Bahar believes that “the problem is that seen from the outside, while many countries have addressed their past, here the work that remains to be done to honor the victims is surprising.”

The filming crew was simple, which benefited them in not intimidating the interviewees. They shot with an X1 camera, which has been updated although the initial format had to be maintained. "Having a simple team allowed us to create that necessary intimacy with the characters. That is half of the film, and what makes the audience feel the characters," says Bahar.

The film had a notable success at the last Berlinale, which is now supported by the Goya for best Documentary Film and with the support of the public in movie theaters.