ACT Year-Round kicks off summer with ‘The Silence of Others’ June 6

Contact for reporters:

Jeff Dodge
jeff.dodge@colostate.edu
(970) 491-4251

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The ACT Human Rights Film Festival may be over, but that does not mean Fort Collins’ cinephiles have to wait until next April to watch excellent human rights films.

On June 6, ACT Year-Round is hosting an exclusive screening of The Silence of Others by Emmy-winning filmmakers Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar (Made in L.A.) and executive produced by Pedro Almodóvar.

Franco’s legacy

Filmed over six years, The Silence of Others reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under Gen. Francisco Franco (1939-1975), as they organize a groundbreaking international lawsuit and confront a “pact of forgetting” around the crimes they suffered. It tells the story of how survivors are fighting an amnesty law from 1977 that exonerated all of Franco’s supporters and gave impunity for all crimes committed. The film spans two continents and takes the film subjects more than 7,000 miles away from home in the pursuit of justice.

The Silence of Others is a thought-provoking powerhouse of a film, and we are thrilled to screen it through our ACT Year-Round program in Fort Collins,” said Beth Seymour, managing director of the ACT Human Rights Film Festival. “ACT Year-Round sustains and fosters conversations about human rights and social justice issues throughout the entire year. Year-round programming allows ACT to reach broader, more diverse audiences and helps to create more impactful community partnerships.”

With the global rise of authoritarian regimes and ultra-right parties, The Silence of Others offers a cautionary tale about fascism’s long shadows and the dangers of forgetting the past. It raises profound questions about how societies grapple with legacies of state violence and the perpetrators of crimes against humanity in their midst.

Honors and awards

The Silence of Others is the winner of a 2019 Goya (Spain’s equivalent of an Academy Award), the Berlinale Panorama Audience Award, Berlinale Peace Film Prize, Sheffield Doc/Fest Grand Jury Award, and more than 25 other international awards.

“This must-see film explores themes that are highly relevant to the current international climate and leaves viewers with complicated questions about their own complicities,” said Seymour.

The Silence of Others will screen on June 6 at 6:30 p.m. at The Lyric. Matthew Hitt, assistant professor of political science, will briefly introduce the international law mechanisms that drive the film’s legal action. Join Hitt and the ACT staff in The Lyric’s café following the film for further discussion and informal conversations. Tickets are $10 for general admission; $8 for students/seniors. ACT Year-Round is presented in partnership with The Lyric. Learn more at  www.actfilmfest.org.