Disappearing Memories

Just as Marcel Proust had his madeleines, Silvia Malagrino has burnt oranges to trigger a flood of memories.

In Burnt Oranges, Chicago-based photographer and filmmaker Silvia Malagrino scours her memory and the memory of fellow Argentines in an effort to understand her country's dark past. Returning to Argentina almost three decades after the coup that put a repressive military dictatorship in power, Malagrino examines the connections – and occasional disconnect – between personal recollection and official history.

During Argentina's "Dirty War," as the military's seven-year rule from 1976 to 1983 is called, thousands of Argentines were killed, tortured or simply disappeared.

In Burnt Oranges , viewers hear the stories of former officials in the military junta, journalists who supported and opposed the government, and political prisoners and their loved ones. Through these interviews, Malagrino tries to understand how her country's past has shaped its present and the challenges future generations face as they unearth the skeletons of history.

Related Links

The Madres de Plaza de Mayo keep alive the memory of the disappeared and demand to know what happened to the tens of thousands who vanished. (In Spanish)

Listen to the May 4, 2005 Chicago Public Radio interview with Malagrino about her film.