Blue Files

(Karpeta urdinak)
Ander Iriarte | Documentary

2022 | 113 minutes | Spain, France

Basque filmmaker Ander Iriarte suspects that his father was tortured and a recent study carried out in the Basque Country can prove it scientifically.

Human Rights Basque Studies Criminal Justice Fascism + Repression History Activism Mental Health Political Science Race + Ethnicity
Synopsis

Basque filmmaker Ander Iriarte always suspected that his father had been tortured by the Spanish police. But he wasn’t sure, because his father never spoke of the past. This changed when his father participated in an extensive research project into torture in the Basque Country between 1960 and 2014, promoted by the Basque Government’s Peace Plan.

The videotaped witness statements reveal horrific torture practices. To find out what torture is and what it does to victims, Iriarte interviewed psychiatrists, lawyers and other experts who conducted the study. They discuss in detail the Istanbul Protocol, adopted by the United Nations in 1999, which provided guidelines for the investigation and documentation of torture and other inhuman treatment. The disturbing conclusion is that torture is not the work of deranged sadists, but is systemically embedded in societies.

Reviews

"I can no longer conceive the report without the film" — Paco Echevarría

"Although directed with a cold head, a documentary that squeezes your heart with one hand." — Aitor Merino

"The story of a painful, uncomfortable, and deliberately silenced truth." — Oskar Matute

“Search, investigate, do not judge, show; as if Ken Loach met Freud.” — Javier Tolentino

"In the year 2022, a documentary that particularly moved me, since I saw it, I can't get it out of my head" — Gaiza Izagirre

“We cannot understand torture without the psychological component and this documentary shows the suffering it generates in all its crudeness." — Pilar Garrido

"It shames us because it puts before our eyes the evidence of the brutality of the State long silenced and denied." — Aitor Gabilondo

"A must-see documentary to discover all the truth." — Maixabel Lasa

"It is clearly shown how the state, instead of protecting, has acted with complete brutality and impunity." — María Jauregi

Citation
Main credits

Iriarte, Ander (film director)
Iriarte, Ander (screenwriter)
Gil, Jorge (screenwriter)
Retegi, Olatz (film producer)

Other credits

Cinematography, Eñaut Castagnet; editing, Laurent Dufreche, Ander Iriarte, Amaia Merino; music, Paula Olaz.


Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects

Activism
Basque Studies
Criminal Justice
Fascism + Repression
History
Human Rights
Mental Health
Political Science
Race + Ethnicity

Keywords
Blue Files, Karpeta urdinak,Carpetas azules,torture,Spain,Basque conflict,ETA,Human Rights,coflict,investigation,Ander Herrera,documentary,torture,Basque Country,País Vasco,Euskadi,police,abuse,dirty war,Olatz Retegi,Olatz Barrenetxea,Miguel Angel Navarro,Iñaki Markez,Benito Morentin,Itziar Caballero,Jeannete Ruiz Goikotxeta,Julene Zuazua,Maritxu Jimenez,Gabriela Lopez Neyra,Irene Redondo,Maria Antonieta,Andrea Galon,Pau Perez Sales,Paco Etxeberria,Laura Pego,human rights,public rights,equal rights,freedom of expression,basic human rights,united nations,activism,human rights activism,human rights council,human rights commission,universal human rights,universal rights,basque country,basque studies,basque language,basque,basques,vascos,vasco,vascongado,euskara,euskera,aquitani,criminal justice,crime,judiciary,police reform,corrections,criminal law,judicial system,justice department,prosecution,judgement,criminal law,courts and corrections,corrections institutes,authority,authoritarianism,dictatorship,military regime,military government,fascism,repression,oppression,political oppression,political repression,far right,far right wing,modern fascism,communications,journalism,news,information,media,new media,newspaper,newspaper,blogs,news site,news app,pulling string,gathering string,reporting,fourth estate,news media,journalists,journalist,reporters,reporter,history,context,narrative,past,chronicle,lore,annals,historic,personal history,archive,record,saga,biography,memoir,study,activism,activist,digital activism,advocacy,advocate,involvement,militancy,militant,logrolling,striking,boycotting,championing,champion,effecting change,engagement,supporter,protest,protester,demonstrator,organizing,labor organizing,revolution,revolutionary,community organizing,effecting change,striking,labor strike,labor organizing,mental illness,therapy,trauma,behavioral health,mental disability,psychology,psychiatry,social work,wellbeing,counselor,diagnosis,mentally disabled,mental incapacitation,mentally defective,mental handicap,mental defective,psychotic break,psychosis,psychoses,mentally sound,questionable mental health,political science,micropolitics,macropolitics,political theory,political education,political movements,political thinking,political criticism,poly sci,polysci,political sci,political sciences,political history,history of politics,political systems,racism,discrimination,prejudice,ethnicity,ethnic,race studies,ethnic studies,racist,racial sensitivity,bias,prejudice,racial prejudice,ethnic prejudice,genetics,hereditary,culture,ethnic culture,ethnology,ethnography,ethnic sensitivity; "Blue Files"; Pragda Films
Clips
No clips are available yet.
Festivals

San Sebastian International Film Festival; IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam; FIPADOC; DocsMX; Documenta Madrid - Audience Award; Censurados Film Festival - Best International Film; Bolivia Himan Rights Film Festival - Best International Film

DIRECTOR: Ander Iriarte

NATIONALITY: Spain, France

YEAR: 2022

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish; Basque

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adult

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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