The Silence of the Mole
El silencio del Topo
Director: Anais Taracena
Guatemala | 2021 | Spanish with English subtitles | 90 min
Join us during for a conversation via VLAFF’s FACEBOOK LIVE with director Anais Taracena and the 2022 Youth Jury. Sat Sept 3 – 10:30 AM PT
View IN-PERSON at The Cinematheque: Thursday, Sept 1, 5:00pm
View ONLINE (from anywhere in Canada): August 25 – September 4 (extended to September 11!!)
In the 1970s, journalist Elías Barahona, aka “El Topo”, infiltrated the heart of the repressive military government in Guatemala. His undercover work and eyewitness testimony provide a gripping view of this country’s hidden history.
I want people to feel a connection with the film because, beyond being a political film, it is also deeply human and sensitive issue. This story could be told in any other country that has had a civil war.
I want people of my generation – between 30 and 40 years old – who live in Central America to connect with the film. My generation have grown up with many silences and historical gaps, so we had to reconstruct our own memories. Finally, I want to share this with the public because I think that Central American history remains marginal in contemporary historical narratives. – Interview with Anais Taracena by Vicki A Lee, Women & Hollywood
A lo largo de la década de 1970, el periodista Elías Barahona, alias “El Topo”, se infiltró en el seno de uno de los gobiernos más represores de Guatemala. Buscando develar la historia de este individuo reservado y único, “El silencio del topo”, captura los momentos en que las revelaciones del pasado sondean las grietas en los muros de silencio que rodean la historia oculta de este país.
ANAIS TARACENA is a documentary filmmaker and producer with a Master’s degree in Political Science. She has directed short films that have been screened at international festivals and universities. In 2019 she participated in the Berlinale Talents and in the IDFA Academy School as an emerging director. The Silence of the Mole, Anais’s first feature film, premiered at Hot Docs in 2021 and has won 9 international awards including the Tim Hetherington Award at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2021, Best Documentary Prize at Malaga Film Festival, and Special Jury Award at the Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea.