09/05/1982

Signs of turmoil linger on walls and windshields in the grainy footage revisited in 09/05/1982. A recurring slogan, Matanza del 9 de mayo (Massacre of 9 May), is graffitied on multiple buildings. Shots of bullet holes, crowds in the streets, and burning barricades made of car tires evoke a bloody street clash somewhere in Latin America in the early 80s.

An authoritative voice looking back on the events confirms that suggestion. It defends the government’s crackdown on protests by “Leftist groups [who] sought to destabilise,” and claims, “Strong decisions were needed to restore calm.” The rhetoric sounds familiar, claiming to explain the course of events while obfuscating essential facts. The recovered footage, seemingly countering the official narrative, is damaged and fragmentary.

Rather than argue a thesis, this film builds an intrigue that unfolds in time, asking who speaks through images and how we come to believe them—until the evidence itself demands a second look.