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Award-winning filmmakers and lecturers at NYU Madrid Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo’s documentary, The Silence of Others, won an Emmy for Best Documentary at the virtual awards ceremony last week. The film, executive produced by Pedro Almodovar, examines the experiences and traumas of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco and the decades-long journeys of individuals seeking justice for egregious crimes committed under the General’s rule. The Silence of Others sheds light on the amnesty law created two years after Franco’s death in 1975 that protects the perpetrators of crimes and prevents victims from pursuing justice in Spain.

Bahar and Carracedo followed several victims and survivors for a period of six years as they organized the “Argentine Lawsuit” in order to fight the amnesty law. The legal battle illuminates  the country’s fascist history and how the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Franco’s regime continue to affect victims and their families. 

Along with receiving the Emmy for Best Documentary, it was also awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. “We are incredibly happy,” wrote Bahar and Carracedo in an email. “These two awards help culminate the 2.5-year impact campaign of The Silence of Others and show that the issues we highlight in Spain resonate powerfully all over the world. We dedicate these awards to the protagonists in the film and to everyone, all over the world, who have fought and are fighting for truth, justice and redress.” 

The Silence of Others premiered at the 2018 Berlinale (widely considered to be one of the top 5 festivals in the world) where it won both the Panorama Audience Award and the Berlinale Peace Film Prize. The film’s awards and prizes include being shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature for the 91st Academy Awards and it won a 2020 George Foster Peabody Award for Documentary and a 2019 Goya Award for Best Documentary Film. It has been seen by more than 1.5 million viewers and has been credited for increased dialogue about the past and the legacy of crimes. The Silence of Others has generated press across the political spectrum and has been acknowledged in op-eds, essays, books and other sources as helping to change public opinion, generate support for the victims, and reframe the debate around “historic memory” issues.

Read more about Bahar and Carracedo’s Emmy win here, and watch the film here.