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'Winnipeg' Film Recalls Ship of Spanish Exiles to Chile at Annecy Festival
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

'Winnipeg' Film Recalls Ship of Spanish Exiles to Chile at Annecy Festival

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The animated film 'Winnipeg, the Ship of Hope' premieres at the Annecy Festival, recounting the story of a ship that carried 2,200 Spanish Civil War exiles to Chile.
  • Inspired by Pablo Neruda, the voyage offered a chance for survival to those fleeing Franco's regime, who faced hardship in French internment camps.
  • The film, a Spanish-Chilean-Argentine co-production, aims to preserve the memory of this act of solidarity and its relevance to contemporary issues.

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival is showcasing 'Winnipeg, the Ship of Hope,' an animated film that resurrects the memory of a pivotal moment in 20th-century solidarity. Directed by Beñat Beitia and Elio Quiroga, the movie tells the story of the Winnipeg, a ship that transported 2,200 Spanish Civil War exiles to Chile, a narrative celebrated in Latin America but less known in Spain.

The Winnipeg represents one of the great examples of solidarity of the 20th century, a positive and necessary story that we feel must be told to dialogue with our present and our future.

— Beñat BeitiaExplaining the motivation behind the film 'Winnipeg, the Ship of Hope'.

"The Winnipeg represents one of the great examples of solidarity of the 20th century, a positive and necessary story that we feel must be told to dialogue with our present and our future," Beitia told EFE. This Spanish-Chilean-Argentine co-production is competing in the Contrechamp category at the prestigious festival.

The film draws from the graphic novel 'Winnipeg, Neruda's Ship' by Laura Martel, who also co-wrote the screenplay. It focuses on Víctor, a widower, and his daughter Julia, who fled Barcelona in January 1939 as Franco's troops advanced. In France, they encountered concentration camps and harsh conditions, common for the half-million Spaniards who sought refuge.

Not merely making an animated film is what we have intended.

— Beñat BeitiaDescribing the deeper purpose of the film beyond animation.

The Winnipeg offered a path to escape. Facilitated by poet Pablo Neruda, his partner Delia del Carril, and other cultural and political figures, the ship was chartered to sail to Valparaíso. Beitia noted that 268 ships carried Spanish refugees to Latin America during that era, primarily to Argentina and Mexico, but the Winnipeg's journey to Chile was unique. The directors aim to repair the "chain of transmission" of these stories, which were suppressed during the Franco dictatorship.

Our film wants to underline a thank you to the Chilean people, in this case (...) We need people to extend a hand to each other.

— Beñat BeitiaExpressing the film's message of gratitude and international cooperation.

"Our film wants to underline a thank you to the Chilean people... We need people to extend a hand to each other," Beitia emphasized, seeing this message as particularly relevant today. The film itself, involving a 300-person team across continents, mirrors the transnational nature of the Winnipeg's story, highlighting the enduring significance of memory and mutual aid.

Memory only makes sense if it helps us ensure that darkness is not repeated.

— Beñat BeitiaReflecting on the importance of historical memory.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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