Carlos Da Silveira

A boy and a dog try to survive in the middle of a battlefield.

For thirty years, Carlos Escayola was the main politician of the small town of Tacuarembó, Uruguay. This farmer was known both for his political and cultural achievements (including the construction of a theater), and for the reputation of seducer, which earned him one of the greatest family polemics in the history of the region.

Aurelio Saravia is a powerful politician who holds office in Uruguay in the mid-1960's. When Aurelio's mistress kills herself, he adopts their illegitimate daughter Masangeles despite the stern objections of his wife Aurora. Masangeles finds herself growing up in a home ruled by a corrupt and self-centered tyrant and his manic colleagues while Uruguay teeters on the brink of civil war as bands of revolutionaries battle government militias. When she turns fourteen, Masangeles discovers a secret passageway in their home that leads to sanctuary in a nearby church which also serves as a storehouse for guns and ill-gotten cash. Teenage Masangeles falls in love with Santiago, her stepbrother who has joined the rebels fighting against the state, and she persuades him to take her virginity.

The documentary looks in the life and work of Mario Benedetti, especially in his poetic work, the keys to an illustrious Montevideo. A man who has had to live several exiles and has received all the awards that this world can give. But above all, the affection of an unconditional, massive and faithful audience that follows him everywhere and pampers him every day with their applause and reading. A sad childhood, a youth full of work and reading, and a maturity full of commitments marked Benedetti. His work testifies the history, that which only artists can tell.

In Montevideo, Sonja cares for her invalid mother, works in a garment factory, and has little going for her. Her neighbor Modesto, an older man who lives alone, types anonymous letters to her. Her mother is difficult -- demanding and miserable, afraid of death. Sonja meets Ernesto, a nurseryman, and finally there may be some possibilities in her life. Does freedom beckon?

Héctor Rodríguez (1918-1996) was one of the outstanding figures in the people's movement in Uruguay. He was a textile worker and also a member of parliament for the Communist Party, and he was expelled from their ranks in the 1950s. He was a journalist, a militant activist and a political prisoner, and a key force in trade union unity and left wing politics in Uruguay. His life was bound up with some of the most important events in the history of this country after 1930. As well as Héctor's own testimony we have the voices of textile workers, intellectuals, union members and politicians, in a rich mixture of archive film and photographs.

A musician and composer who grew up in Tacuarembó, Eduardo Darnauchans, was one of the main creators of popular music in Uruguay. He was persecuted for political reasons from 1962 to 1984, and this documentary covers his life and work as a reflection of that troubled time.

The future has arrived. Below, in the tunnels, inhabit the "underground": a tribe that survives on the fringes. Above, amidst decay and smog, a corrupt society is ravaged by a religious cult that kidnaps and murders beautiful teenage models. Detective Gutiérrez, tormented in dreams by the image of a young woman whom he has never met, is hired by a wealthy family to find a missing model. Tangled between these two worlds, Gutiérrez will have to push himself to his breaking point to solve the enigma.

A woman that is an excellent wife and mother, and responsible and efficient in her work, commits a shameful act pushed by fate.

This is a documentary about the life and work of Atahualpa del Cioppo, one of the outstanding figures in Uruguayan and Latin American theatre. We are shown his life today, his old friends and his passion for the theatre, against the backdrop of his home, the city of Montevideo.