Atlas of Disappearance

Valle de Cuelgamuros is a massive monument built under the regime of Spanish dictator Franco. Between 1959 and 1980, the remains of more than 33,000 people were transferred here from mass graves throughout Spain. The film explores the history of violence left behind by the regime and the barely surviving artefacts of its memory – the bodies that were so desperately sought to be erased. By assembling an interdisciplinary team of geographers, architects, filmmakers, and archivists, and using digital technologies, the director gradually reconstructs an atlas of disappearance and reveals the methods of historical erasure and the architecture of power. By combining the collective perspective with the individual one, the filmmaker follows three families who have spent many years trying to find the remains of their loved ones and shows that history does not end with the regime – it remains alive in people’s memories and family histories. Here, cinema becomes an important investigative tool that exposes and reconstructs the past.

Manuel Correa is a Colombian artist and filmmaker based in Madrid. His work explores memory and post-conflict reconstruction in contemporary societies. Manuel’s work is exemplified by the difficult task of negotiating highly complex and fragile social relations formed in the aftermath of trauma. He has used documentary filmmaking as a tool through which to bring people together: creating meeting points for war victims, survivors, activists, and scientists. He was part of the Forensic Architecture project.