News Sixth Form Spanish students visit the BFI 27.03.2024

Last week, Sixth Form Spanish students took part in a study day at the BFI on ‘Trauma and Memory: Filming the legacy of dictatorships in Spain and Chile’.

We watched El Silencio de Otros (The Silence of Others), a powerful documentary following the struggles of a group of victims of Franco’s dictatorship and their families as they organise an international lawsuit in Argentina in an attempt to fight the government-sanctioned ‘pact of forgetting’ the crimes that they suffered. This was followed by a workshop exploring the recent histories of Spain and Chile, focusing on political repression and the different approaches to the transition to democracy – all in Spanish, of course! They were then lucky enough to have a question and answer session via video link with a Spanish activist who had been arrested and tortured during the dictatorship. He spoke very powerfully, explaining why he felt it was so important to speak out about his experiences and fight for accountability.

It was a fascinating, and at times very moving, day and provided an invaluable opportunity to go beyond the A Level and IB curriculums.