Secretos de Lucha

Hello everybody, well once again I take my pen (well, my keyboard instead) to give you some update concerning the fabulous adventures of Secretos de Lucha. It is fabulous indeed, fabulous to know that just 2 days after the first screening of my film in Uruguay, within the first edition of Atlantida's documentary film festival, Atlantidoc, this fantastic news fell on my desk: the general Gregorio Alvarez, who was the chief in command of the army from 1978 until 1979, then in 1981 became the first military dictator of the Uruguay (Bordaberry was a civilian, and stayed as a president from 72 and then as a dictator from 73 only until 76), the general Gregorio Alvarez as I was saying, is now in jail, charged with the crimes of disapearing at least 20 uruguayan civilians during his period in command. On Monday December 17th 2007, one year and one month after his colleague Bordaberry entered the prison, General Alvarez entered Piedras Blancas' special jail where he'll stay until t

Bonjour tout le monde, hello everybody, hola a todos, c'est avec un grand honneur et plaisir que je viens annoncer ici que Secretos a reçu hier soir le prix du public au festival du film historique de Pessac. It's my honour and pleasure to announce that my film Secretos de lucha won last night the audience award in the documentary category of the Festival of Pessac. Es un gran honor y gusto anunciarles aqui que La pelicula gano ayer el premio del publico en el festival de Pessac. J'étais à Pessac depuis mercredi (après avoir survécu plutôt bien aux 8 heures de train qu'il a fallu pour aller de Paris à Bordeaux en temps de grève), et je dois avouer que le séjour ici a été fantastique, allant à la rencontre d'un public très fourni curieux et enthousiaste, en étant moi-même public et découvrant les magnifiques films de Patrick Benquet sur MSF, de Yves Jeuland sur les Juifs et la France, les fictions aussi, de Ken Loach, "It's a free world", au tendre &quo

Bonjour! je vous écris aujourd'hui de Suisse, plus précisemment de Genève où je viens de revenir, après avoir présenté ce soir le film à Lausanne. C'était la deuxième présentation du film dans ce pays, la première ayant eu lieu hier soir au Bio Carouge, à Genève. Je tiens à dire encore une fois à quel point je remercie le public qui participe dans ce genre de présentations: hier, environ 80 personnes, ce soir, une quarantaine, quelques latinoaméricains mais aussi des gens qui viennent parce qu'ils sont curieux du sujet, parcequ'ils ont voulu découvrir un pays et une histoire si mal connue, comme celle de l'uruguay et de sa dictature. Ce soir, comme hier, un très bel échange s'est mis en place avec les spectateurs, à la fin du film. Il y avait dans les deux cas des familles d'uruguayens qui ont pu aussi apporter leur témoignages sur leur vécu, et c'est avec beaucoup d'émotion que nous avons écouté celui de cette jeune femme venue avec son frère et sa

FLASH: 25/10/07 SUITE AU SUCCÈS D'AUDIENCE LORS DE LA PROJECTION DE BAYONNE, LE 19/10/07, OÙ QUELQUES SPECTATEURS N'AVAIENT PAS PU RENTRER FAUTE DE PLACES, DEUX NOUVELLES SÉANCES SONT ORGANISÉES À BAYONNE. Mercredi 31 Octobre 17h30 L'Autre Cinéma Samedi 3 Novembre 19h30 L'Autre Cinéma. Je serai présente après cette séance pour répondre aux questions des spectateurs. Pour le samedi, pensez à venir à l'avance, la salle est petite! A bientôt!Maiana

Hello everybody, in this note I just really would like to thank the fantastic audience that came to meet us, my father and I, in the screenings that took place in Bayonne, last friday, and in St Jean Pied de Port, last night. The Atalante, this theatre so important to the cultural life in Bayonne, my home town, was a full house for the screening, despite the odds (as it was competing against the "little final" of rugby, France against Argentina.) It was quite moving to answer some of the questions. I know I have still to work on this, so I can manage to answer better and more at length some of the topics, but it is hard for me at times to try and remain completely neutral when what we are talking about is my father's life, and therefore also mine. But the encounter was excelent, as I believed we were able to share experiences and thoughts on the whole process both of Uruguay's recent history and the journey that was the making of the film. Many thanks to Jean François

Cinema L'atalante, Bayonne, October 19th, 20h30. Forget about the rugby, rugby is outdated. Come to the screening. Cinema Le Vauban, St Jean Pied de Port, October 23rd, 21h00. Cinema Saint Louis, St Palais, November 7th, 20h30. Cinema Le Rex, St Jean de Luz, November 8th, 20h30.(Opening of the Human rights film Festival). Cinema Le Rex, St Jean de Luz, November 13th, 18h. Human rights film Festival. Amiens Film Festival, November 13th, 11h and 20h30, location TBA. More very soon. keep on the fight, and remember that "they didn't know it was impossible, so they did it." Maiana

Hello everybody, well here I am back in France, after spending 10 beautiful days attending the great DocsDf, documentary film festival of Mexico city. I am very grateful towards the French embassy which took care of my travelling fees, and even more to the fantastic organisation team, which organised the event in such a colourful and enthusiastic way. I had the opportunity to meet great documentary filmmakers such as Goran Radovanovic, Ricardo Macian, Mohammad Bennasian, Bishnu DEV HALDER, the excelent Laurel Chiten, etc etc etc. A great opportunity to talk about our craft, as documentary filmmakers, and to enjoy the experience of discovering other people's culture... And yes, Mexican food is excelent. Aaah, that Mole poblano in Don Alfonso Cafeteria... Beside the discovery of one country through its main city, food, culture and sites, I was happy to talk to the people who really lives and fights there, thank to my friend Lupita Miranda. It really opened my eye on how little did I

Dear all, I am very honoured and pleased to announce you that our film won Best documentary in Biarritz last night. I was extremely moved and happy to have my father join me on stage, together with Jean François (producer) to receive the award, in front of a full house in the Festival palace of Biarritz. This is a sign of encouragment and I want more than ever to go on on in the struggle, to reach in Uruguay Memory, truth and Justice. The victory of the documentary is great, but more than a film, I think it validates a message and this is why I want to associate another doco which was also in competition and really moved me: Madres, about the mothers of the place of May in Argentina. Yesterday one of them, Nora, was in the room, together with Eduardo, Director and Andrea, Producer of the film. I gave them a warm hug last night, but today again I want to say, with both our films, we try to make little step towards this huge aim, awareness and justice, and I hope in the end we will mak

Hello everyone! So, first, the news of the week: Secretos de lucha is officially selected in the Amiens Film Festival (9-18 November 2007) and in the Bogota film festival (3-11 October 2007) The short version (52 min) is screening this week in the Rosario film Festival. The First public screening of the feature length version is going to take place in Biarritz, September 26th, 4 pm in the auditorium of the Casino, and September 28th, 9 am, same place. Mexico: September 29th - 14:00 hrs. - Cinemex Casa de Arte 1 October 2nd- 18:30 hrs. - Cinemex Casa de Arte 1 (in my presence) October 4th- 21:00 hrs. Cinemex CAsa de Arte 1 (in my presence) Why in my presence? Because the French Embassy is kind enough to pay for my trip there. I will be very happy to go for the first time in my life to this beautiful country, from September 30th until around October 10th. Next should be Bogota (I don't have the dates of the screenings yet, and I don't think I will be going there. Unfortunatel

Hello Everybody! This is the first message in the newly created blog to promote, discuss, or even criticise (as long as it is a constructive criticism) the documentary Secretos de Lucha. I am Maiana Bidegain, the director and writer of the film, and I am quite interested in getting feedback from anybody who's seen the film, or who is interested in seeing it, or simply who wants to talk with me or anyone taking part in this blog about themes related to the film: the history of Uruguay, the years of the dictatorship in the seventies, the heavy silence imposed on a generation that now my generation is trying so hard to lift, to let some truth be known. I will also be bringing here the news related to the screenings organised around the world for the film. So first, a quick introduction: Secretos de Lucha is a film about my journey, as a young woman born in France from parents who were political refugees from Uruguay, to discover what really happened to them. What especially forced my