SONG WITHOUT A NAME

Peru, 1988. The country is in economic crisis, the Shining Path is fighting the state, and the newspapers report fresh violence every day. Georgina Condori, a young woman from the Andes, lives with her husband in a wooden hut in a poor settlement on the coast near Lima and is heavily pregnant. She follows a radio advertisement to a clinic that promises free maternity care. Shortly after the birth her child has disappeared, and no one will tell her where. Georgina begins to search – with the authorities, who turn her away, and finally with a journalist. “Song Without a Name” (Peru, 2019) is the feature debut of Melina León and is based on true events.

León tells of the child trafficking of those years from the perspective of powerlessness, in austere images that make her heroine’s isolation visible. With the film, León became the first Peruvian director invited to the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes; Peru submitted it for the Oscars. “Song Without a Name” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2019.

Shown at the 2019 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2019 · Film Archive