UNDER THE FLAGS, THE SUN

[BAJO LAS BANDERAS, EL SOL]
Ascending to power via military coup in 1954, Alfredo Stroessner ruled Paraguay with an iron grip for the next 35 years, leading one of the world’s longest authoritarian regimes. After 30-plus years of democracy, what remains of its legacy? Digging into the limited archival footage available, filmmaker Juanjo Pereira crafts an incredible archival essay that exposes long-forgotten foreign newsreels, propaganda films and incriminating documents. Memory and history collide as footage reveals how Stroessner amalgamated power through media manipulation and the silencing of any and all dissenters. While restricting freedoms and personal liberties at home, Stroessner was still a Cold War ally and was received in Washington with open arms by President Lyndon B. Johnson. These timely images remain a powerful indictment of Stroessner’s rule and offer a strong warning sign to any who follow in his footsteps. –Josh Gardner

FIPRESCI Critics Prize, Panorama Section, 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Juanjo Pereira; PROD Leandro Listorti, Gabriela Sabaté, Ivana Urizar, Paula Zyngierman. Paraguay/Argentina/U.S./France/Germany, 2025, color and b&w, 90 min. In Guarani, Spanish, German, French, English and Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Run Time: 90 Minutes

Opening Date: Friday, September 19, 2025

Genre: Documentary - history

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