The film “Verdades Verdaderas” or “True Truths,” about the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina who sought answers when their children and grandchildren disappeared under military rule, has been awarded the SIGNIS-WACC Human Rights Award in Toronto.
The Rev. Karin Achtelstetter, general secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), and Alvito De Souza, secretary general of SIGNIS-World, the World Catholic Association for Communication, announced the award at a joint meeting at WACC’s headquarters here.
The 96-minute film, directed by Nicolas Gil Lavedra, is based on the life of Estela de Carlotto, president of the Grandmothers, according to a WACC news release. The film’s motto is: “Memory is useful so as not to make the same mistakes twice. Tragic events must be faced up to because only then can we transform pain into restorative action.”
From 1976 to 1983, Argentina’s military dictatorship kidnapped thousands of opponents. An estimated 30,000 people were murdered during that time. Children born to imprisoned dissidents were often stolen by their captors and registered as other people’s children, according to the WACC news release.
The film tells part of this history “from the perspective of Estela de Carlotto, recounting the experiences and searching of a wife, mother, and grandmother, the struggle for justice, reconciliation, and reuniting. It serves as an example for everyone who has suffered loss, not just family losses on account of the military dictatorship, but any kind of unjust loss,” said the news release.