Giants Don't Exist
(Los gigantes no existen)
Chema Rodríguez | Drama, Fiction
2017 | 82 minutes | Guatemala
Based on the true story of Guatemalan activist Jesús Tecú, Chema Rodríguez’s second feature is a harrowing and powerful drama about survival and hope. Teco was one of the few survivors of the 1982 Río Negro massacre against indigenous populations, in which 177 women and children died.
Synopsis
Guatemala in the 1980s, at the height of the ruthless civil war against the country’s indigenous communities. Andrés is 9 years old. He lives with Pedro González, one of the men who massacred all the women and children in his village. Andrés has survived, but he’s scared. Pedro’s wife, María, is also scared, scared to go out, scared to lose Andrés, whom she considers as "her new son". Even Pedro is scared, scared of himself and what the Army bounds him to do. Andrés would like to run away but he also wants to stay with this new family... The unexpected arrival of his biological sister will change everything.
Based on the true story of Guatemalan activist Jesús Tecú, Chema Rodríguez’s second feature is a harrowing and powerful drama about survival and hope. Teco was one of the few survivors of the Río Negro massacre in 1982, in which 177 women and children died.
Reviews
"Highly Recommended. Giants Don't Exist is based on the true story of Guatemalan activist Jesus Tecu who was one of the few survivors of the Rio Negro Massacre in 1982 in which 177 women and children died by Guatemalan soldiers." — LaRoi Lawton, Library & Learning Resources Department, Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, EMRO
"Expressive, silent and implacable work on fear." — Toni Vall, Cinemanía
Citation
Main credits
Rodríguez, Chema (film director)
Rojas, Rafael (actor)
Orantes, Patricia (actor)
Martínez, Jose Javier (actor)
Vargas Quevedo, Francisco (screenwriter)
Siminiani, León (screenwriter)
Other credits
Cinematography, Álvaro Rodríguez Sánchez; editor, José M.G. Moyano; music, Pablo Borgués.
Citation
Cataloging
Pragda subjects
Central America
Criminal Justice
Family
Fascism + Repression
History
Human Rights
Indigenous Peoples
Latin American Studies
Youth
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
Roma Film Festival - Alice Nella Città Official Competition
Seville European Film Festival - Special Screening
Icaro Festival Guatemala - Opening Night Film
Guadalajara International Film Festival
Chicago Latino Film Festival
DIRECTOR: Chema Rodríguez
NATIONALITY: Guatemala
YEAR: 2017
GENRE: Drama, Fiction
LANGUAGE: Spanish; Indigenous languages
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
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