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FILMS BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
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In the Time of the Butterflies
(En el Tiempo de Las mariposas)
Mariano Barroso
USA -
2001 |
On November 25, 1960, the bodies of three sisters were found near the
bottom of a cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The
official daily 'El Caribe' reports that it had been an accident, but it
does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it mention the
sisters' fierce opposition to the General Trujillo's dictatorship. This
is their story: how Minerva started the tragedy by refusing Trujillo;
how Patria became an opponent from the church itself; how Maria Teresa
joined the revolution through the love. And how they lost their wings,
but not their courage. They were Las Mariposas - "The Butterflies". |
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Voces Inocentes
(Innocent Voices) |
A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980's El
Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he
desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him. |
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Luis Mandoki |
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El Salvador -
2004 |
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La Historia Oficial
(The Official Story) |
Alicia Marnet de Ibáńez is a high school history professor and a
well-to-do housewife in Buenos Aires, circa 1983, after the fall of the
"junta militar" that had taken over the government since 1976. She has a
husband, Roberto, who is a succesful lawyer and a five-year-old adopted
daughter. |
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Luis Puenzo |
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Argentina –
1985
Winner
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Mar Adentro
(The Sea Inside) |
Life story of Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign to
win the right to end his life with dignity. Film explores Ramón's
relationships with two women: Julia, a lawyer who supports his cause,
and Rosa, a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth
living. Through the gift of his love, these two women are inspired to
accomplish things they never previously thought possible. Despite his
wish to die, Ramón taught everyone he encountered the meaning, value and
preciousness of life. Though he could not move himself, he had an
uncanny ability to move others. |
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Alejandro Amenabar |
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Spain –
2004
Winner
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Soldados de Salamina
(Salamina Soldiers)
David Truba
Spain -
2003 |
When the professor and writer Lola Sánchez (Ariadna Gil) is assigned to
write a column in the newspaper about the Spanish Civil War, she
researches and finds for the first time about the shooting of Rafael
Sánchez Mazas (Ramon Fontserč). Lola has lost her passion for writing,
and she becomes intrigued about Rafael, who was a writer and journalist
that returned to Spain from the Italy of Mussolini and founded the
fascist party Spanish Falange, becoming advisor of the leader Jose
Antonio Primo de Rivera. When the lefts won the election in 1936, the
Falange became illegal, and later there was a military coup d'stat.
Rafael miraculously escaped from the shooting and was spared by an
unknown soldier. |
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Antes Que Anochezca
(Before Night Falls)
Julian Schnabel
USA -
2001 |
Episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas
(1943-1990), from his childhood in Oriente province to his death in New
York City. He joins Castro's rebels. By 1964, he is in Havana. He meets
the wealthy Pepe, an early lover; a love-hate relationship lasts for
years. Openly gay behavior is a way to spite the government. His writing
and homosexuality get him into trouble: he spends two years in prison,
writing letters for other inmates and smuggling out a novel. He
befriends Lázaro Gomes Garriles, with whom he lives stateless and in
poverty in Manhattan after leaving Cuba in the Mariel boat-lift. When
asked why he writes, he replies cheerfully, "Revenge |
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"Che"
(Ernesto "Che " Guevara)
Steven Soderbergh
USA -
2008 |
In 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) and a band of
Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of
dictator Fulgencio Batista. |
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