Wednesday May 28 | 7:00 pm | Vancity Theatre

Director: Christiane Burkhard, Mexico, 2007, 88 minutes

Spotlight on Mexico, Part 1 | Curated by Victor Martínez Aja

Aleida Gallangos has no memory of her parents. They “disappeared” during the Mexican “Dirty War” in the Seventies, an era of political violence against dissidents that has been ignored for decades. Aleida was just two years old when she was rescued from the midst of a gun battle and raised under a new identity—her past locked away for nearly three decades. She grew up under the adopted name Luz Elba, not knowing her biological parents. Both Aleida and her brother Lucio Antonio grew up in different families, not only separated from their missing parents, but unaware of each other’s existence.

Now, almost thirty years later, Aleida has found several relatives thanks to a magazine article and learns for the first time of her missing brother. Upon this discovery, she dedicates her life to finding Lucio, following numerous trails which finally lead her to Washington D.C. where her brother is living.

Tracing Aleida tells us the very intimate and moving story of Aleida’s quest for information about what happened to her parents and her brother. Filmmaker Christiane Burkhard follows both the search and the first encounter of the siblings and focuses her documentary on their developing relationship, as well as on their own reconstruction of political history and personal memory.

Director's Biography

After studying in Madrid and Berlin and coordinating a multimedia intercultural project about Mexican women, Burkhard began a second career as filmmaker in the Cinematography Training Center in Mexico City. Her first documentary film was a German/Mexican co-production and in 2001 she started her own production company. Burkhard teaches documentary filmmaking in Mexico and coordinates academic exchanges between Germany and Mexico. Her latest film, Tracing Aleida, premiered at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam before winning an award at the 2008 Festival Internacional de Guadalajara.

Curator’s Biography

Victor Martínez Aja was born and raised in Mexico City and has lived in Vancouver for ten years. His passion for the arts and experience as a cultural promoter has led Victor to collaborate with different Latin American events, as well as various film festivals in the city. Victor is the co-founder and director of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival.

Read the essay: Notes on the Mexican Documentary

Community Partner

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival (VLAFF) is a non-profit cultural promoter that strives to entertain audiences, provide insight into Latin American social issues, and celebrate the rich traditions of these diverse countries. This annual, non-competitive festival promotes dialogue between cultures and explores historical and social issues through the eyes of filmmakers.

Film Trailer