Graciela Salsamendi

One or Two Questions

In 1986, the Uruguayan Parliament passed a law granting amnesty for all crimes and human rights violations committed by the military and police during the dictatorship (1973-85). This law of impunity prevented the clarification demanded by the relatives of those who had disappeared and been murdered by the former regime. A public initiative arose calling for a referendum in which the law be subject to the vote of the people. Unas preguntas uses U-matic footage, mostly of interviews recorded on the streets of Uruguay between 1987 and 1989, to present a time capsule of the period.

For the Hundredth Time

Four women in a poor neighbourhood in the town of Las Piedras, in Uruguay, speak about their daily lives, economic problems and numerous children. Their menfolk don't help, quite the opposite. The documentary comes up against the same general questions, and then we move to the more intimate level of love, tenderness and sexuality.