I have not been familiar with the “Desaparecidos” in Argentina all my life living in Texas. Still, it has been about twenty years since I worked with another publication. Someone first approached me with what had happened in Argentina a few decades prior. Although that publication declined to run a story then, I always remembered what I had learned. I most certainly was not told about Nora “Norita” Cortiñas at the time, so when I read about this film coming to the Austin Film Festival, I now know that I could share her story with others who may have never heard the details of Argentina’s right-wing military regime who took action to have people – many young activists – disappear. I have seen the amount as 30,000 in various articles.
Norita was a housewife, married to Carlos, and they had two sons. She was a talented seamstress and did not spend much time out of the home due to her family and work for her clients. All that changed when their older son, Carlos Gustavo, did not return home. As a mother, I can’t imagine the devastating feeling of losing a child—and then, even worse, not being able to locate details from anyone in “authority.”
The documentary tells the story of Norita, who had a family member “disappear,” and how she found out about many other mothers who anxiously were looking for answers about their sons and daughters disappearing in large amounts in the 1970s. As the numbers continued to grow and answers were even fewer, the women began to gather for support, leading to the founding of a movement of Argentinian mothers. The women began their protest in Buenos Aires in a prominent town square – Plaza de Mayo – where the government could not miss their presence. Shortly after Cortiñas’s son was abducted and disappeared, the movement became known as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. Their efforts continued, bringing awareness to all who would listen that they had endured this loss and needed answers. It was not easy, there was extreme loss and grief, and yet they persisted.
Aside from the footage of Norita during the women’s movement, there is archival footage as she continued her decades of activism, both in black and white and later in color. There are also lovely and colorful animation sequences by director-animator Andrea Tortonese that add to the progression of Norita and the other mothers’ stories.
Jane Fonda is an executive producer, and among the executive producers is two-time Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain, Babel). Gustavo Santaolalla, Paco Cabral, Juan Luqui, and Matias Tozolla composed the score. Francisco Villa does the cinematography and Julia Straface and Ana García edit.
Norita did not find out what happened to her son Gustavo and remains a “desaparecido” among many others to date. I read in a June 2024 article in Deadline that “Cortiñas – died Thursday at the age of 94, following a hernia operation.”
The film’s world premiere was June 25 at the Dances With Films festival in Hollywood. Norita can be seen twice at the Austin Film Festival. Visit the website for times and locations: https://austinfilmfestival.com/2024-film-schedule/, including Monday, October 28, at the Galaxy.