Granito: How to Nail a Dictator
Dir.
Pamela Yates
|
Guatemala-en
|
2011
|
103 min
|
Documental
Prod.:
Skylight Pictures, Inc.,The Independent Television Service (Itvs), The Corporation For Public Broadcasting
Impact Prod.:
Paco De Onís, Pamela Yates, Beatriz Gallardo Shaul, Matilde Terraza, Marleny Tzicap, Alejandro De Onís, Flannery Miller, Monica Wise E Nora Cristiani
It takes many people from different walks of life to contribute their “granito de arena”—their small grain of sand—to create meaningful change. What’s your “granito de arena” toward building a more just world?
Synopsis
Part political thriller, part memoir, Granito follows filmmaker Pamela Yates as she unravels the extraordinary story of how her 1983 documentary, When the Mountains Tremble, became key evidence in the genocide trial against former Guatemalan dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt. Weaving together the stories of seven protagonists over 30 years, each one contributes their own “granito”—their tiny grain of sand—to a nation’s quest to bring a dictator to justice and offer the Maya people their day in court.
- Defense of the Territory, Indigenous Peoples, Racism
- Community strengthening, Mindset and perception
Why learn about this impactful campaign?
This case is a powerful example of the long-term impact of an open-ended campaign closely tied to a community—in this instance, the Maya peoples of Guatemala and their 30-year struggle for justice. It illustrates the responsibility of documentary filmmakers to sustain relationships with the communities they portray.
As the second installment of what became a trilogy known as The Resistance Saga, Granito shows what a deep, ongoing commitment to a community can look like. One key moment highlights the importance of preserving all filmed material: an unused clip from a 1982 interview with Ríos Montt—where he acknowledges command responsibility over military actions during the genocide—became critical evidence in his trial decades later. This collaboration between filmmakers, communities, and legal teams led to his historic conviction for genocide.
The case reminds us of the potential power of documentary archives and the ethical obligation to safeguard and revisit them as circumstances evolve.
