The Silence of Others
After decades of silence in Spain, a team of lawyers and former victims try to bring crimes of Franco’s brutal 40-year dictatorship before a criminal court for the first time in history, and that country is forced to reckon with its past.
Awards & Recognition
Winner
2018 International Documentary Association (IDA) - Pare Lorentz Award
Nominee
2018 International Documentary Association (IDA) - Best Feature
Winner
2019 Peabody Awards - George Foster Peabody Award
Winner
2019 News and Documentary Emmy Awards - Best Documentary
Winner
2019 News and Documentary Emmy Awards - Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary
The Silence of Others captures the first attempt in 77 years to prosecute crimes of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco (1939-1975). In a groundbreaking international court case, victims of re-education camps, child abduction, torture, and extra-judicial killings have come together to break their silence and confront perpetrators who, unbeknownst to much of the world, have enjoyed impunity for decades. Through the compelling contemporary story of the case and the personal journeys of several of its plaintiffs, The Silence of Others explores the shadows the past still casts upon the present in Spain. What happens when a country is forced to reckon with its history after many years of silence? What happens to those who have endured – and then dare to break – such silence? Can justice really be done after so long?