Stephen Fernandes, stevfern@gmail.com, +00919820707327

Another must-see at MIFF 2010 was Juan Mandelbaum’s “Our Disappeared”–an unflinching reopening of Argentina’s dirty war on the left during the 1970s, when thousands of people were murdered, “disappeared,” including a charming ex-girlfriend of the filmmaker.

Through a casual Google search director Juan Mandelbaum finds out that Patricia, a long lost girlfriend from Argentina is among the thousands who were kidnapped, tortured and then “disappeared” by the military during the 1976-1983 dictatorship. Juan embarks on a journey to find out what happened to her and others he knew who disappeared and re-examines his own choices

As Mandelbaum interviews the friends and families of those who were murdered, he gets to reconnect to his own past. However, it would be a mistake to think the film is about the filmmaker, even though it’s obviously a personal story. At the end of their interview Weisz tells Mandelbaum the worst curse among the Jewish people is to be completely forgotten..

Speaking about his film, Juan says “I have always cared deeply about Argentina’s trials and tribulations, and above all about how our brutal and corrupt governments have affected the lives of people I love. Over the past 35 years the country has suffered a succession of political and economic calamities, but the greatest open scar has been left by the organized repression that happened after the March 24, 1976 military coup.”

He goes on to say “Practically everyone knows of someone who disappeared, such was the scale. Argentina is still haunted by this period, and will be for a long time. We still don’t know what happened in thousands of cases. Who took them? Where were they taken? When were they killed? Where were their bodies disposed of? For the families there will always be a void. By telling their stories we can be by their side, letting them know that they are not alone. These are our disappeared.”