Claudio Zulian’s Sin miedo: Film as Action and Memory

Abstract

This study analyzes the collective pursuit of justice and memory in Sin miedo [Without Fear] (Zulian, 2017). The documentary is a grassroots implementation of a 2012 Inter-American Court of Human Rights judgement. The relatives of desaparecidos/as during the Guatemalan military dictatorship were the catalysts for the film’s creation. This study focuses on a filmic analysis of techniques, research on the history of the internal armed conflict in Guatemala, and relevant information on the family members’ hunt for justice, such as the detailing and connection of common crimes to politically motivated ones. A continued climate of impunity in Guatemala is challenged by the protagonists as they utilize the collection of testimonials and evidence to break cultures of enforced silence and fear. Zulian’s documentary claims new ground as it provides the relatives with the means to fulfill the court mandate and to actively construct and position their forcibly disappeared family members’ stories and their own within Guatemala’s historical narrative. Through their dynamic involvement in Sin miedo (2017), the relatives participate in the conversion of film into action and memory. These findings support grassroots movements in (re)shaping dominant narratives through media like film; they are also a reminder of the power of silenced voices and of the varied forms that claims for justice can take, from court mandates to documentaries.