Mexico, March 2015. Carmen Aristegui, incorruptible journalist, is fired from the radio station where she has worked for years. The next day, more than 200,000 people demonstrate to call for her return. Despite this exceptional mobilization, the station does not give way.
"Carmen Aristegui, a leading journalist in Mexico, fights government corruption and the rise of fake news with astonishing resilience and courage. Shot over the course of four years, Juliana Fanjul’s intimate documentary portrait captures first-hand the dangers faced by those who dared to speak truth to power under the controversial presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto.
After her report on Peña Nieto’s swanky mansion, which had been paid for by a firm that was awarded the country’s first high-speed rail contract, Aristegui was illegally fired from her radio station, whose news department received 80% of its funding from the government. Unable to find work at other outlets, Aristegui and her staff continued to publish, guerrilla style, through her website and social media channels; they broke heavy-hitting news such as Peña Nieto’s plagiarism scandal and the government’s brazen misuse of public funds.
Aristegui’s unwavering commitment to freedom of expression came with death threats, bullets sent in the mail, and even an office break-in. While these frightening events call to mind the grittiness of a political thriller, Fanjul opts for a sober film-making style, deliberately avoiding sensationalism. [...]
Aristegui might not be supported by those in power, but her popularity among the wider population shows that the desire for justice and transparency can never be doused."
Film note from Radio Silence review by Phuong Le, The Guardian
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