Burnt Oranges is an experimental documentary about the long-term effects and repercussions, personal and social, of Argentina's 1970’s state terrorism. The film is a personal and artistic portrayal of a country's struggles to confront its painful past and a reminder of today’s necessity to defend human rights and democratic values.

Burnt Oranges juxtaposes a poetic personal narration with traditional documentary. The narration is based on factual letters written by the director Silvia Malagrino and writer Monica Flores Correa, both friends who fled the country at different times.

Reveling current life in Buenos Aires, Argentina, through the eyes of a long-gone native the film also records and uncovers compelling testimonies of resistance, transformation, and hope.

Fundamental to the film are the voices of members of Argentine human rights organizations:  Mothers of the Disappeared, Grandmothers of the Disappeared, HIJOS (Sons and Daughters of the Disappeared), and also governmental figures of the 1976-83 military dictatorship who explain their position. Other witnesses include Bob Cox, the former chief editor of the Daily Buenos Aires Herald, and Alicia Partnoy - a poet and a survivor of torture in a detention center, both currently living in the U.S. 

Together, these voices contribute to our understanding of core questions of human action, the potential for creation and destruction, and the necessity of accountability.

© 2005. Silvia Malagrino. All rights reserved