To See You Again (Volverte a Ver en Español) unveils the tragic consequences of Mexico's war on organized crime, which has disproportionately affected civilians, leading to the disappearance of countless individuals. A group of courageous women embark on a relentless quest to find their missing loved ones. Their search leads them to the discovery of mass graves in Jojutla and Tetelcingo, revealing the complicity of Mexican authorities in the disappearances.
Determined to uncover the truth, the women personally participated in the exhumation of over 200 bodies, using forensic science to aid their investigation into the fates of thousands of missing Mexicans. As they unearth the remains of the disappeared, a chilling reality emerges: the Mexican authorities clandestinely buried many of their loved ones in mass graves.
To See You Again poignantly captures the solidarity, bravery, and resilience of these women in the face of injustice. The documentary exposes the hidden atrocities committed by the state, including the secret burial of over 100 murdered bodies by the Mexican District Attorney during the war on drug trafficking, a revelation brought to light by the unwavering determination of the mothers searching for their missing children.
A powerful and emotional journey, To See You Again serves as an outstanding exposé, showing the overlooked cost of the rapid militarization of the Mexican national police over the past decade. While it’s certainly important to police the production and movement of hard drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine, To See You Again clearly shows the unacceptable civilian costs of the War on Drugs in Mexico, much of which has the rubber stamp of state approval. It’s unclear whether the government was covering up the incidents, or if incompetence and bureaucratic indifference allowed for such atrocities to be committed with impunity, but it’s important to talk about such loss of civilian life.
Those interested in forensic science or the missing persons cases associated with the Mexican War on Drugs will find To See You Again a fantastic addition to any documentary collection. Highly Recommended.
What kind of film series could use this title?
- Human Rights and Social Justice: A film series dedicated to documentaries that explore human rights abuses, social justice movements, and the struggles of marginalized communities around the world.
- True Crime and Investigation: A series highlighting documentaries or films that delve into real-life crime cases, forensic investigations, and the quest for justice.
- Political Documentaries: A series focusing on documentaries that examine political issues, government corruption, and the impact of policies on society, both domestically and internationally.
Where does this documentary belong on public library shelves?
- Documentaries: Given that it's a documentary film uncovering the tragic consequences of Mexico's war on organized crime and the courageous efforts of women seeking their missing loved ones, it would belong in the documentary section. Libraries often categorize documentaries by subject matter, so it could be placed in sections related to social justice, human rights, crime, or political science.
- Forensic Science: Since the documentary involves the use of forensic science in the investigation and exhumation of bodies, it could also be included in a section dedicated to forensic science or crime investigation.
- Latin American Studies: The film sheds light on the issues surrounding the War on Drugs in Mexico and its impact on civilians, making it suitable for shelves dedicated to Latin American studies, particularly focusing on social and political issues.
Director's Bio
Carolina Corral Paredes
Director, activist, and visual anthropologist from The University of Manchester. Carolina has received various grants and awards as an independent filmmaker. Her work has been presented the Festival d’animation d’Annecy and Morelia International Film Festival, amongst many others.
Director's Statement
It’s been more than ten years since Mexican authorities began destabilizing the country, fueling extreme violence under the guise of the “war on drugs”. Since then, nothing has improved and many Mexicans have been killed or gone missing. It is absurd to think about the veracity of such a war. It is very complicated to understand what is happening in Mexico. In the middle of such a horrific scenario, we also began learning about the existence of mass graves. We heard they belong to “organized crime”, that ambiguous figure that is difficult to grasp. The story shows that the Forensic Offices were also involved in disappearing people, clearly through negligence, omission, laziness, and complicity. The authorities ensured to dissolve any trace or evidence ofthe organized crime by disappearing the bodies into these mass graves after they were killed. This film implicates the Mexican authorities, the forensic offices, and the Attorney General of Morelos, in the large-scale burial of thousands of violently murdered people and shows the citizens themselves participating in the digging to find their relatives and the truth. Why didn’t the Mexican Authorities investigate those they buried? That is one of the questions the families of the victims are trying to answer. With every corpse unearthed, comes a complex story of corruption and impunity. This film shows the efforts of the families while the film team and I try to understand what happened. - Carolina Corral Paredes
FILM FESTIVALS & AWARDS
- Audience Award – Cinema Planeta, Mexico
- Best Feature Documentary Feature – Colombia Human Rights Int’l Film Festival, Colombia
- José Rovirosa Award for Best Mexican Documentary
- Special Mention – Doqumenta International Film Festival, Mexico
- Special Mention – DocsMx International Film Festival, Mexico
- Best Documentary - Zanate Festival, Mexico, 2020
- Sheffield DocFest
- Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara
- DocsMX
- International Documentary Film Festival
- Mexico City Independent Film Fest
- Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival
- Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival, China
- Hola Mexico International Film Festival, US
- Festival Internacional de Cine de la No-Violencia Activa (FICNOVA), Spain
- Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijon, Spain
- Rodando Film Festival, Mexico
- Equis Festival de Cine Feminista, Equador
- Tenemos Que Ver – Festival Internacional de Cine de Derechos Humanos de Uruguay
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