Our Mothers

Winner of the Camera d’Or, Our Mothers takes a sensitive look at the effect of Guatemala’s brutal military dictatorship on the country’s women, who hold history together with resilience and dignity in the face of violence. 

Ernesto works in forensics, identifying the countless bodies of people who ‘disappeared’ during the early 1980s Guatemalan civil war. Trials against soldiers continue and victims provide statements. Testimony from one of the many women who hold on to this dark history offers Ernesto a chance to find out the truth about his own father – pursuing the case against his mother’s wishes to its emotionally wrenching conclusion.

César Díaz’s first narrative feature is a quietly powerful tale of the Guatemalan genocide and its ongoing impact. An understated visual style and focus on specific, intimate experiences within the broader tragedy lets a deeply humane story emerge. Using both professional and non-professional actors – many of the film’s ‘mothers’ are recounting traumatic events that really happened – makes this work a profound fiction film and historical document all at once.

“Throughout his film, Diaz eschews dramatic highs in favour of solidly nuanced observations.” – Screen Daily