With Teo Gutierrez Romero, Natalia Oreiro, César Troncoso, Ernesto Alterio, Cristina Banegas
Benjamín Ávila’s Clandestine Childhood (Infancia Clandestina) is an earnestly heartfelt cine-memoir based on the director/co-writer’s own tragic early life. Argentina, 1979. After years of exile, twelve-year-old Juan and his family come back to Argentina under fake identities. Juan’s parents and his uncle Beto are members of the Montoneros Organization, which is fighting against the Military Junta that rules the country. Because of their political activities they are tracked down relentlessly, and the threat of capture, and even death, is constant. However, Juan’s daily life is also full of warmth and humor, and he quickly integrates into his new environment. His friends at school and the girl he has a gigantic crush on, Maria, know him as Ernesto-a name he must not forget, since his family’s survival is at stake. Juan accepts this and follows all of his parents’ rules until one day he is told that they need to move again immediately, and leave his friends and Maria behind without an explanation.
This exceptional first feature not only captures the spirit and passion of the freedom fighters who gave their lives for a cause, but also gives voice to their children, caught in a battle that was not their own yet rising heroically to the challenge. This story about militancy, undercover life, and love is the Argentine submission for the 2013 Best Foreign-Language Academy Award.
