Asesinados

Asesinados
1999, 12 min.
Directed by Elio Gelmini, Ross Turnbull
Production: A Few Step Productions & Segnale Digitale
Editing: Elio Gelmini, Ross Turnbull

Sinopsys
On June 10, 1998 as the world celebrated the opening of the century’s last soccer World Cup, Mexican federal army and police troops attacked a number of Zapatista villages in El Bosque, a municipality in the war-torn province of Chiapas. Several people were killed and the troops detained almost 60 campesinos (peasants.)

Three days after, on June 13, Mexico commenced its first match of the World Cup, playing South Korea. On the same day in Union Progreso, the El Bosque village which had sustained the worst assault on June 10, the bodies of eight men were returned by intermediaries.

It is unknown if the eight had been killed during the attack and their bodies removed by the troops, or if they had been among those detained. Asesinados juxtaposes these two events – the World Cup game and the return of the bodies to Union Progreso and subtly attempts to question actions taken in the name of national aspiration. Ironic, disturbing and succinct, the tape is a powerful reminder of the basis of the conflict in Chiapas: the systemic suppression of the human rights of its indigenous inhabitants.

Screenings:
• Independent Exposure April 22, 1999 Seattle – USA
• First Peoples’ Festival June 13, 1999 Montreal – Canada
• Jackman Hall -Art Gallery Of Ontario
(4×4 A program of independent video art) June 27, 1999 Toronto – Canada
• Locarno Video Art Festival Locarno– August 5-15, 1999 – Switzerland
• Sixieme Festival De Cinema Et Video des peuple AutochtonesDesAmerique
August 6-13, 1999 Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
•Rights on Reel – Human Rights Film &Video festival December 9 – 12, 1999 Toronto – Canada.
• 13 th Stuttgart Filmwinter January 13-16, 2000 Stuttgart – Germany.
• Winnipeg Microcinema March 25, 2000 Winnipeg – Canada
• Independent Exposure Global Vision Festival November 2-5, 2000 Edmonton – Canada>