A Film by Beth Formaggini
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Royce 190
Memories for Daily Use is a film about oblivion and the construction of political memory:
Ivanilda searches for evidence to prove that her husband Itair was arrested by the Brazilian government. He belonged to the communist party and has been missing since 1975. Romildo is looking for the body of his brother Ramirez, missing since 1973, in a cemetery on the outskirts of Rio. Leda visits the street named after her son Marcos, murdered by the military dictatorship, so that his name may never be forgotten. Mothers cry for their children, recently murdered by the police in favelas, and fight for justice.
They all belong to Tortura Nunca Mais group, founded during the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985). These political militants gave their lives for freedom, and were branded as terrorists. The group provides psychological and juridical assistance to the militants and their families, and fights for the declassification of the military archives which may be the key to finding the bodies of political missing persons and revealing how they were killed. Torture still haunts the families who have not had the chance to bury their loved ones. The film moves between remembrance, traumatic oblivion and citizens' rights, attempting to bring to light the memory of recent facts, unveiling the selectiveness of official history, and thinking about the past, so that we may liberate the future from the ghosts that still haunt our present.
Special Instructions
Discussion after the film with Beth Formaggini
For more information please contact
Diliana Peregrina
Tel: (310) 825-4571
www.international.ucla.edu/lac
Sponsor(s): Latin American Institute
