Atlas of Disappearance: Forensic Quest for Franco's Forgotten Victims
Manuel Correa's documentary 'Atlas of Disappearance' investigates the Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caídos), a colossal memorial near Madrid built under Franco's regime. The film follows three families seeking to recover relatives clandestinely buried in the monument's crypt after the White Terror. It critiques the site's architecture as a tool of oppression and highlights the use of technology in forensic identification. The documentary premiered at the 2026 Gijón International Film Festival and has been praised for its emotional depth and forensic rigor.
Key facts
- The Valley of the Fallen is located in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains near Madrid.
- The memorial was constructed under Franco's regime and criticized as fascist glorification.
- Franco was buried there until his exhumation in 2019.
- Tens of thousands of bodies of executed individuals were secretly moved to the monument's crypt.
- Manuel Correa's documentary follows three families in their quest to recover their loved ones.
- The film examines architectural blueprints to reveal the site's oppressive design.
- Technology is used to identify and retrieve remains.
- The documentary premiered at the 2026 Gijón International Film Festival.
Entities
Artists
- Manuel Correa
Institutions
- Valley of the Fallen
- Gijón International Film Festival
Locations
- Madrid
- Spain
- Sierra de Guadarrama