Original subtitles

On July 17, 1936, under the leadership of General Francisco Franco

a military coup by anti-democratic and anti-communist generals began

against the elected republican government of Spain

The coup marked the beginning of a three-year civil war,

which led to the end of the Republic in Spain and to the Francoist dictatorship

which would remain in power until Franco's death in 1975

Today, historians estimate 200,000 to 500,000 victims

of the Spanish Civil War

It is estimated that tens of thousands were buried in mass graves

which have been exhumed by private initiatives since the year 2000,

to give them a dignified burial

Laura, we've got them all

- How many in total? - One hundred and four

BARCELONA, 2010

Hello?

Yes, but he isn't here

His granddaughter

Sorry?

I'm sorry, I don't know What papers?

No, my grandad is in a care home He can't go anywhere

Yes, of course I'll tell himThanks

Hi, Grandad

How are you today?

- Where's she? - With the babysitter

Grandad, some association phoned

They say you've been looking for your father

What was that?

He signed some documents years ago to request the exhumation of a mass grave

Is that right, Dad?

Mum

Grandad was from Burgos, right?

Yes, he was born in Briviesca

A mass grave has been found in that area

My great-grandad's body might be there

Didn't you know about it?

He never told us anything

Grandad, let's go for a walk

Do you remember when you taught me to fish?

THE TEACHER WHO PROMISED THE SEA

Mum, do you like it?

What is it? A heart?

I love it

Go on, finish it

I want to go

- Where? - To La Pedraja

Grandad can't go

- Will you go? - No

I'll go then

Ari

Now that you're feeling better

perhaps you could go back to your job

You have a daughter to look after

I want to help Grandad find his father

And I'd like to know why he never told us

You shouldn't go alone

Ari

- Arianna? - Hello

Hi

How are you doing?

- How was your trip? - Fine

Would you like to eat, or rest a while?

No, thanks

Okay

- Let's go to La Pedraja - All right

It's your great-grandfather, right?

Let's hope we have some luck

Bear in mind there's still a lot to be done in this area

What do you do for a living?

I'm on sick leave

We're here

Why are all these people here?

They're from the neighbouring villages

Some have opened their doors to us and invited us to lunch

To sleep even

Others don't even look at us

Laura

Excuse me a minute

Mum, what do you want?

Yes, I got here okay

I can't talk right now I'll call you later

Okay, bye

Are you Catalonian?

Yes, from Barcelona

I'm from Bañuelos de Bureba It isn't far from here

My name's Emilio

I'm Arianna

Nice to meet you

Another Catalonian could be buried down there, you know?

His name was Antonio

Antonio Benaiges

He was

my teacher

BAÑUELOS DE BUREBA, 1935

Thanks

Hello?

Hello?

Come up, I'm upstairs Come on up

- I'm, Jaime, the mayor of Bañuelos - Antonio Benaiges Pleased to meet you

- Welcome to Bañuelos de Bureba - Thank you

- I hope you had good journey - Yes

Well, along one

- What do you think? - It's fine

Very

cosy

A bit of a clean and it will be like new

What happened to the previous teacher?

Let's say

The Republic decided he was no longer needed

Father Primitivo, the village priest

- You'll get to meet him - Sure

- Well, I'll leave you to unpack - All right

If there's anything you need, just ask for me

Thank you

Father

Thank you

Good morning, teacher, sir

Good morning

What's your name?

Emilio, sir

Emilio Martinez

Nice to meet you, Emilio My name's Antoni

But you can call me Antonio

- But no calling me "sir" - Yes, sir

I mean, yes, Don Antonio

Antonio without "Don"?

Just Antonio

Good, you're getting the hang of it

Do you want to come in?

- With you - All right

Is anyone else going to come?

Well,

let's start then

Good morning

Good morning

Come in

- What's your name? - Josefina Zamero

The mayor's daughter

And that's my place

Hang on a minute In this school, no one has their own place

You can sit wherever you like each day Okay?

Fine That seems fair

I'm Antonio Benaiges

Right

First question

Why do you think I've come to this village?

- To teach us - Exactly Correct Very good

But I've also come to learn

And I want to try to help you to discover

that within each one of you

there is a person full of knowledge

And also the will to learn

- Don Antonio - Yes?

- The cross has fallen off the wall - No

It hasn't fallen off I took it down

Because we're in a school

We aren't in a church

Second question Who can tell me

what meteorology is?

Yes, Emilio?

- What? - Look,

see this?

It's a thermometer

Look

Do you know what it's for?

To measure the temperature Look Touch it

Every day, one of you

will be in charge of this thermometer and you'll note down the temperature

This is how we're going to learn

Experimenting, all together

What are you doing?

I thought you were going to hit me

Here

Let's see

Here in this school,

no one is going to hit anyone

My dad says slackers only learn with a good beating

Well,

at school, we'll learn with music

- With music? - Yes, music

And I'll teach you to dance

At school?

What about sums and things?

We'll learn maths by solving day-to-day problems

And to read and write

I'll leave reading and writing for tomorrow

You know what?

I want you to tell your parents, brothers, sisters and cousins,

tell them all to come here tomorrow because it will be a special day

Because tomorrow

Tomorrow we'll do magic

Hello?

Good afternoon

Good afternoon

- I've come to clean up - Oh

The mayor has sent me

Fine Come in

My name's Antonio

I know We soon find out everything around here

Yes, I can imagine

What's your name?

Charo My name is Charo

Nice to meet you, Charo

I'll start downstairs, so you can carry on

Take care

Alfonso?

Antonio

- How's it going, man? - Fine

Everyone calls me Rodriguez here

- Shall we sit down? - Sure

- So then, how is Bañuelos treating you? - Bañuelos, good

- Up to now - Good

How about you and the new government?

It has to come to an end

Articles like yours are more necessary than ever

By the way, did you talk to the press?

Yes, the director of La Voz de la Bureba is a friend

- He's eager to meet you, so - Good

- It's no problem Okay? - What can I get you?

Two glasses of wine, please Thanks

What's the delicate matter you want to talk about?

Yes

Right

I need to ask you a favour, Antonio

I have a good friend Bernardo

He's been in prison since the right-wing won

And well, he has a kid

An eight-year-old son who helped him in the fields

Now he goes from house to house, getting into trouble

Kids' stuff But this last time has been

a bit more serious

What did he do?

He threw stones at the Guardia Civil barracks and

Yes, just imagine

- Thanks - Thank you

It would be good to get him away for a while

He's no mum, he's having a rough time and

I thought maybe

Well, he could stay and live with you, in the school

- Antonio, he's a really bright kid - Right

If he's with you, he won't get into trouble

I know it's a lot to ask, but Bernardo's a good friend

I'd like to help him out with his kid

What's his name?

Carlos

Good morning

Good morning

SPANISH FALANGE, DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT

Excuse me

Are you sure you gave me all the documents?

Yes

There's no record of the prison admissions and discharges

There should be a record

Briviesca prison burned down a long time ago

That's all we have

I'm sorry

Thank you

From Briviesca

you take this track, past the chapel in Espinosilla,

and you cross the Bureba salt works

The same track takes you to the shrine

It's beautiful

Thanks

Do you know an old man named Emilio in the village?

Yes, there's an Emilio in the village The man from the cheese farm

- Do you know where he lives? - Yes, I'll write it down

- Arianna? - Mum, is my little girl okay?

- Yes, but - Please, can you stop calling me?

Ari

Hello

Hello there, Catalonian

Hello

Emilio

The other day, you talked to me about your teacher

- A man called Benaiges - Antonio Benaiges

That's the one

Right, my great-grandfather

shared the same prison cell

What was his name?

Bernardo Ramirez

Bernardo

It could be Carlos' father

Carlos Ramirez

Carlos is my grandad

Go ahead

My dad is Camilo and he's very strong When I grow up I'd like to be like my dad

I can lend you one if you like

I worked at the library in Briviesca nearly all my life

Look, look

That was Antonio

That's me

And that's Carlos

Your grandad

Carlos Ramirez

He was a real mischief

We were jealous of him

because he lived with the teacher

He lived with the teacher?

It's a long story

Sit down Would you like some coffee?

"Bañuelos de Bureba Mixed State School, 1936"

Does the school still exist?

Yes

Do you want to see it?

There are only a few of us left

Many years ago

people started to drift away

gradually

This was the school

It's been closed for years

I can't understand why my grandad never mentioned any of this

The truth is

none of us talked about our teacher ever again, in all these years

Well,

thanks for your help

It's true, it isn't a palace,

but we'll have a good time

Are you good with that?

Do you want me to show you?

Hey, what are you doing?

Carlos

Carlos, that's my bed

Well, I'm glad to see so many new faces around here

First of all, I want to introduce you to a new boy in the village,

his name is Carlos

And I hope you look after him, and between us

we'll help him to adapt

Okay?

And now, I'll introduce you to what will be

our main tool

in our lessons

It's a printing press

With this, we will publish

our own books

And in them, you will write about everything that interests you

Your dreams

Your desires

Your fears too

You'll become writers,

reporters

and poets

It will be like a small newspaper

Our own newspaper

Do you fancy having your own newspaper?

- Was this the magic thing? - Josefina, surrender to amazement

Come here All of you

Come on Don't be scared

To learn together, we must make mistakes together

Get up off your benches Get off your backsides Come here

- See these small pieces here? - Yes

They are called types

They are the letters we will use to write

We can start with the name of this village, which is called?

- Bañuelos de Bureba - Good

We take the galley

and we place the first letter

- Which letter? - "B"

Now, you can help me

find the letters

Very good

That's right Good

And we're done Very good

And now, carefully, we place it here

Now it's time for the ink Do you want to help me?

Look, we take the ink,

we spread it out a bit

Good, everywhere That's it

Who'll take charge of the paper?

You? Hold it carefully

It looks like you've done this before Good

We close it and we press

The pressure you apply has to be just right

We open up

and now the moment you've all been waiting for

The magical moment

- Who wants to try first? - Me

You all want to?

Good morning

Good morning

I don't think we've been introduced I'm Antonio Benaiges, the new teacher

Father Primitivo

Nice to meet you

How can I help you?

What right do you think you have to take down our Lord?

Look

I'm sure you're already aware

that in Spain, since the Republic won,

education is secular

And there is no law or rule

that binds me to have a crucifix hung on these walls

I see

You're an atheist

I can't do anything about that

But there are good Catholics here and you should respect their faith

I respect their faith

But faith and religion belong to the realms of family and church,

not school

I am an atheist, but I assure you

my only aim here is for these children to learn,

to be good people, that's all

And do you think that this is respect?

Learning like feral beings

running around the school

What isn't respect is what you are doing here

- I can tell you - No, I'll tell you

It turns out this is my school now, not yours

And from now on, things will be done my way

So, if you'll excuse us,

we have a lot of work and I'm sure you have better things to do

than interrupting lessons Goodbye

My family, at the beach

Do you miss them?

Yes, I do, actually

My husband was born in Catalonia too

How come you never told me your husband is Catalonian?

He was

I'm sorry, Charo

I've seen that book you've made with the children

Really? Did you like it?

If you like, I'll read one of the stories to you

I can read

Well, in that case, look

Take one

Please

- No - Honestly, take one home

- No, thank you - Seriously

All right

Thank you

Well, I've finished, I have to go

Charo, stay and have dinner with me

- Thanks, but no thanks - Please, I insist

I've been having dinner on my own for days

and I don't want to anymore

Besides, Carlos is asleep, and look what I've made

Look at this treat

Toast with garlic, tomato, oil, and salt

- Commonly known as - Pan tumaca

- Pan tumaca, yes - I haven't seen it in years

Come on, please

Stay

- That's enough - Can I ask you a question?

- Yes - Do you have children?

No?

Have you lived here in Bañuelos all your life?

Yes

How did you meet your husband?

- He was a travelling salesman Fabrics - Right

Have you never thought of leaving?

Where would I go?

Where your husband was born, for example

No

What about you?

How come you ended up here?

Me?

I was appointed to this post

I was appointed to this post

And I took it

I don't know

There's a lot of work to be done

Right, but what do you mean?

Look

You know they say that school helps us to become adults?

In my opinion, my pupils

My pupils have to learn to be children first

What I mean is

they didn't let us be children They wanted us to be men

So we wouldn't be a burden, right?

Well, my job as a teacher, here in Bañuelos or anywhere in the world,

is to prevent precisely that

Because children

Children must be whatever they want But above all, they must be children

You're the strangest teacher ever to set foot here

I used too much ink here

Do you want to do it again?

Yes? All right

Does anyone know why Emilio hasn't come to school for days?

He'll be with his dad

Shall we read a bit of Platero y yo by the fire?

- Yes - Yes?

Shall I sit here?

"Chapter one: Platero"

- Who wants to read? - Let Carlos read

- Josefina - Leave me alone

What's wrong? Can't you read?

- Josefina - Yes, I can

Really? Go on then, read

Hey

I won't tolerate this behaviour in class, Carlos

This mustn't happen again

As for you, Josefina, respect your classmates, please

Carlos Carlos, come here

Carlos Carlos, come here Carlos

Come back, please Carlos

Leandro, you fancy reading?

- Yes - Yes?

Good

"Platero is small,

furry, soft,

so soft on the outside

that you'd say he was like cotton wool"

Camilo

Excuse me

I wanted to talk to you because

Emilio hasn't come to school for days and I wanted to know why

There's lots of work with the cows

Right

Do you know Emilio is the best reader in the whole school?

What my son must do is real work,

or he'll be useless in life

Look

I can understand your way of thinking

Believe me, it's quite the opposite

The more he learns at school, the more options he'll have later on

You aren't going to tell me what is best for my son,

are you?

Carlos

Can we talk about what happened today with Josefina?

I don't care what that stupid girl thinks

My dad couldn't teach me to read and write

And you miss him, right?

I have an idea

What if I teach you to read and write?

No

No? Why not?

Because you're not my dad

Carlos

Come on, it's time for dinner

- Good night, my love - Good night, Mum

See you soon

I'll show you my new pyjamas

Let me speak to Gran

Gran

Ari, when are you coming back?

I don't know yet, Mum

What you're doing for grandpa is great but you've been away for a week

Don't you understand? I'm not doing it just for Grandad

Why didn't you ever ask him about his dad?

He didn't want to talk about that period

Or about his father, or about when he was young

You know your grandad didn't talk much

Mass graves all over Spain

There were executions everywhere

The red marks are the ones that have been dug up,

the green ones are yet to be dug up

Lourdes, any news?

Yes, look, we found this watch in the trouser pocket

Good grief That's good news

Good Thanks, Lourdes

Laura, how did you locate the mass graves?

Well, sometimes we find documents that help us

Other times, it's the locals themselves who tell us

Many people in the villages were forced to dig these mass graves

Then cover them over again

- Laura - What is it?

When will they be dug up again?

No one knows

At least now there is some political will but

we've had to wait over 70 years to start work

And as you can see, there's still a lot to do

Excuse me a minute

This is all I found on Antonio Benaiges

Thank you

RESOLUTION PERMANENT DISMISSAL

Purge record

Exactly

Look, from 1939

But of course, his death wasn't official

So, they took statements from the villagers,

and they made up arguments so they could dismiss him

"The mayor, priest, parish priest, and residents

say that this teacher's conduct was unpatriotic,

antisocial,

and frowned upon by everyone"

They didn't settle for just erasing all memory of him

- Antonio - Yes?

Where does this river lead to?

The Pecesorios?

It joins the River Tirón

and then that one joins a bigger river, called the Ebro,

and finally all this water reaches the sea

Is it pretty?

- What? - The sea

The sea? Is it pretty?

It's the prettiest thing ever, Emilio

Have none of you seen the sea?

No

No

I heard it must be huge

And very deep

The rest of you, how do you imagine the sea?

It's where they catch all the hake

- And the cod - And the sharks

It's true, my dad told me

What else do you know?

- The water must be really warm - No way

It's really cold Colder than the river

Listen up

Do you want to write everything you know about the sea?

Yes

Shall we go back to school and write a special book about the sea?

Yes

Let's go then

Don Antonio, my dad has bought me a new dress to go to church

- Really? - Will you come and see it?

I'm afraid not

My dad says that people who don't go to church end up in hell

What do you think?

If you don't go to church, you won't see my new dress

When will you talk to me on equal terms?

- You don't know? - We'll see

That's nice

Don't ever stop drawing, Josefina You have a gift for drawing

- Antonio? - Yes?

The Sea: pictured by children who've never seen it

This book

will go down in the history of books

It's turned out fantastic Congratulations, all of you Honestly

Well done

Here

Would you like to go and print more books?

- Yes - Really?

You want to see the sea?

Yes

I want you to show this book at home

Get your parents to read it

And tell them something very important:

that this summer your teacher will take you to see the sea

Seriously?

Don't you like the idea, Josefina?

- Will you take us to Bilbao? - No

I'll take you to my homeland

To Tarragona To my village

Mont-Roig del Camp

On a donkey?

On a donkey? No way

We'd never get there on a donkey, Emilio

We'll go on something better We'll go on a train

But you have to help me persuade your parents

Will you help me?

Yes

- Yes? - Yes

All right, let's get started, we'll need many more books

"See you soon, dear son

All my love,

from your father, who never forgets you

Bernardo"

Carlos, look

I know you don't want to

Okay?

But if you let me teach you,

you'll be able to read

and answer your father's letters

Because being locked up

without seeing anyone, or you

It must be tough

But if you tell him what you're doing,

and you tell him you're okay,

I'm sure he'll be thrilled

It's really hard though

Yes, it's very hard

But you have right next to you

one of the best teachers in the world who wants to teach you

What do you say?

What you're listening to is a waltz

And you dance like this

One, two, three One, two, three

One, two, three One, two, three

You dance in pairs So, grab a partner

and dance

One, two, three Count

One, two, three One, two, three

One, two, three And one, two, three

One, two, three One, two, three

"It's chilling to think that there are millions of humans

without the bare necessities in life

This happens

because those who produce nothing

and enjoy everything

accumulate as much wealth

as moral inferiority"

La Voz de la Bureba

"It's humanly inconceivable

Socially intolerable

Financially

suicidal and stupid

So much knowledge of figures

yet they didn't envision

the financial imbalance

of their capitalist system

Living should be a much greater harmony

Being satisfied with ourselves at all times

and aspiring to be better

Opening one's eyes isn't easy

Nor convenient

It requires effort,

and sometimes pain

Very few embark on that journey

Let's caress the word:

light"

These children are too young

If they want to see the sea, we can take them to Santander one day

Yes, of course, Josefina can go to Santander

But what about Emilio?

Can the rest go to Santander to see the sea?

I understand your concern,

and I also understand, it's true, the kids have never been on a trip

But I guarantee, it will be a safe trip

The only cost is the train ticket,

because I'll take care of the rest

Look, honestly,

do you think anyone would leave their child with you?

The parents should be the ones to voice their concerns,

- not you - Antonio

A lot has happened these past few months

Disrespect for our religion

That strange way of yours of teaching pupils

Your left-wing articles

that compromise all of us

And now, the bright idea

of taking them to the sea

Jaime, the kids are excited about it

Honestly

Josefina won't be going on that trip

She's never slept away from home

Nothing more to be said

Don Antonio, I suggest you focus on the syllabus

Good afternoon

Hello, Charo

Antonio, what's the matter?

I don't understand these villagers, Charo

That's the matter

Truly, I don't understand their fear

Actually, the problem is mine

I promised these kids something without knowing if I could

And now, I'm going to let them all down

They'll never trust me again, Charo

Don't talk nonsense Of course they'll trust you

I shouldn't fill these kids' heads with nonsense

You're not filling their heads with nonsense

You're opening their minds

- Giving them hopes - That's the problem

That is precisely the problem

Antonio

Do you want to take them to the sea?

Of course I do

Well then, you just need to persuade one person

That was fun

Hey, Antonio, you're not bad at the jota, being Catalonian

He had a good teacher

You dance better with good wine

That's always true

Could you tell?

He's slowly improving

I'll be right back

Would you like some?

No, thanks

- Hey, Jaime - Antonio, good afternoon

Could I have some sugared almonds?

- Sure - Yes?

- I saw you dancing - Yes

Did I do okay, do you think?

Better than how you write

- Right - Here you go

- Thank you How much? - Fifty cents

Delicious

I read a very interesting news article today

Apparently, teachers who wish to change

can apply for transfer to another school

Don't you want

to work closer to home?

How do you imagine Josefina

in 20 or 30 years' time?

I don't know

When I'm in school

and I see all my pupils

I can't help imagining what they'll be when they grow up

For example, Emilio, Camilo's son, he loves reading

I always think he'll earn a living

in a literature-related job

Yet, with Carlos

I'm not too sure

Something more manual

More physical A trade

What do you think Josefina will do?

You tell me

Well, what she enjoys doing most is drawing

She has such a strong personality

she'll achieve whatever she sets her mind on

She's a great kid

What worries me, Jaime, is that

these kids can't imagine a life away from here unless they're shown it

Don't you want them to leave here and see how big the world is?

Antonio, I have to go

As for your articles,

you're no fool, Antonio

This isn't the time to do it

The golden ratio

isn't just found in geometric shapes

It is also found in nature, such as in flowers

Come in

- Don Antonio Benaiges? - Yes

My name is Juan Llarena I'm the chief school inspector

Nice to meet you

I have been notified

because it would seem your work here isn't satisfactory

I'm sorry to hear that, sir

I assure you that in this school the children learn and are happy

I'm here to check that

You Read this here

"Let me tell you, sir,

above all else,

my name is Lázaro deTormes, son of Tomé González

and Antona Pérez, natives of Tejares,

- a village in Salamanca" - That's enough

You Come to the blackboard

Divide forty-eight by four

Very good Thank you

Let's see

You Come and write

Write: "The horse is wild"

Good

THE HORSE IS WILD

- What's this? - A printing press

We use it to make our books

May I show it to you?

Yes, of course

Look

The pupils

choose the topics

And they write stories

And I help them to correct any mistakes

Then we take a vote,

and we all decide which stories will end up in the finished book

The children do this?

Yes, they even sort themselves out to do the printing, to

Look, these drawings are done with gouges

They design the pages And this is really good, wait and see

This

You see, we share our books with other Freinet schools

- Sorry? - Other schools that use the same method

- Right - For example, this is from Huesca

Batec means "beat" Vilafranca del Penedès

This is from Mexico

- Mexico? - Yes, from Mexico

And this one is from France

We have books from Scotland, Argentina lots

This way, the pupils

learn the cultures of other countries, other people

Other ways of doing things

Keep whichever ones you like It would be an honour

They're the books we made in class, with our teacher

I thought

I'd never see them again

How did you find them?

I got in touch with Antonio's family

The teacher sent them a couple of copies,

they've been saved

Are there any more of Antonio's pupils I can talk to?

Mum

A girl has come to see you

She's the granddaughter of a friend of yours

Hello, Josefina

I'm Carlos Ramirez's granddaughter

Look

Look This is my grandad, Carlos

In Bañuelos de Bureba

And this is you, right?

What's all this about?

What do you want?

I'm looking for my great-grandfather, Bernardo Ramirez

Your father was the mayor, I guess you can help me

I want her to leave

My grandfather is ill

I just want to find his father before it's too late

- Go away - I just want to talk

- You heard my mother - I only want to talk

You'd better leave

- Are you okay, Mum? - Yes, I'm fine

Hello

- Good afternoon - Good afternoon

This is for you

What is it?

A surprise

A surprise

Thank you very much

You're welcome

That look on your face?

Well

With Josefina's father's permission

in a few days, you'll have permission for all the children

What about you? Will you come with me?

Come on, it'd be good to have another adult to control them

Move over, I'm busy

If you saw the sea

You don't know what you're missing, Charo

What's the matter?

Antonio

Maybe you'd better leave this place

Why say that?

I'm saying it because

If there's a war, you could have problems

What war, Charo?

I'm talking about the sea

Haven't you heard the rumours going around Briviesca?

Everyone knows you

You stand out Everyone knows what you think

What you've written

Charo

No one knows what is going to happen

Okay?

And now, more than ever, it's time to live in the present

"The teacher has a gramophone

The teacher wants to take us to see the sea

None of the children have ever seen it

I'm fine, Dad

But I'm longing to see you

Your son

Carlos"

It's a lovely letter, Carlos

Honestly

Your dad will love it

How long do they take to reach him?

Not long A few days

I'll see to it Okay?

It's time for bed Come on

Goodnight, Antonio

Goodnight, Carlos

Camilo

Good morning, Camilo

Good morning

Take a seat

- A glass of wine? - Yes, please

I'm all ears

I have permission from all the pupils,

except Emilio

I told you everything I had to say

Right

Look, I came to bring you

this story that Emilio wrote at school, I'm sure you'll like it

I can't read

Well, in that case, if I may, I'll read it to you

"My dad is Camilo,

and he's very strong

He works hard

He always says that men have to work hard, and be strong

He sometimes gets angry with me

I sometimes deserve it,

but not always

But I know he does it because he wants me to be like him

When I grow up I'd like to be like my dad

I'd like to be strong

and hardworking"

- Yes, Ilaria? - Doce is written with "C"

Doce is with "C", well spotted

Anyone else?

- Dionisia? - Ha with "H"

Ha with "H"

Casimiro, your turn

- The "I" in podía has an accent - The "I" in podía has an accent

Very good

Is this what I think it is?

Children,

we finally have Emilio's permission slip

That means we'll all be going to see the sea soon

Hurray

Great

Good morning

- Hello - I'm from Briviesca

I've come to see if you want a photo of the children

Yes I've wanted a photograph with my pupils for quite some time

- Perfect - Fine

Children, go home, get ready,

have a wash and come back, this man will take our picture

- Run along - Go on

Carlos, don't be vain, come down

Right, come on

Stand where the photographer said

Right, look this way

Look at the camera

Ready?

Here we go

That's it

- Is that it? - That's it

- Where's the photograph? - He'll show it to us now

- Antonio? - Yes?

What's a photograph?

A photograph

is the capture of a moment

You'll soon understand

- Can I play? - Yeah, sure

- Antonio - Yes?

Guess what

- What? - My parents are going to take me to Burgos

- on holiday this summer - Really? You're so lucky

Are you going to miss us?

- No - No?

- Not at all - Will you draw the cathedral for me?

We'll see

- Here it is - Look

Here it is, look

Look

- Wow - It's really nice

- That's me - I'm here

It's lovely

Look how lovely And look,

only one person has turned out looking gormless

Excuse me

What do I owe you?

- One peseta - One peseta

Here

- Perfect Than ks - Thanks

My pleasure

Children

Although it's not long now until our trip,

I wanted to tell you

it's been a real pleasure

to share this school year with you all

I also wanted to thank you,

because I've been away from home

and I felt lonely at times,

and you made me feel at home

And well

I'll really miss our lessons

Hey

Laura

Are you leaving?

We've finished

You didn't tell me

I phoned you but you didn't answer

You'll have to wait a few months,

until we analyse the DNA of all the bones

and compare them with the samples

Arianna, are you okay?

- Would you like a drink or a chat? - No

I know it's hard to say this,

but

Don't lose hope

I have hope What I don't have is time

We'll be in touch, Arianna

Arianna?

My mother asked me to give you these papers

Documents that belonged to her father,

the mayor of Bañuelos

VISIT REPORT

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

She was afraid of betraying his memory

But later

she asked me to give them to you

I hope they help you find your great-grandfather

Encarna

Thank Josefina, please

There are annotations on his collaboration with the military

Jaime was the mayor

Whether on one side or the other,

I'm sure he had no option other than collaborate

How strange

Not a word about Antonio

Look at this

That's my great-grandfather

He was taken to Burgos

Of course

That's why you couldn't find him

What's wrong?

It's good news

We have a new clue

I'm wasting my time

Helping your grandfather isn't wasting time

I'm not helping him

I'll never find him

Arianna

Those were horrific years

Many people died

And those who survived

we were forced to remain silent

Don't stop searching

Carlos

Carlos

- Where's Antonio? - I don't know

Didn't he spend the night here?

- What's wrong? - Come on, come with me

- Will Antonio be all right? - I hope so

JULY 1 9, 1 936

From now on,

the army is taking control of this village, and the whole province

If you collaborate, you'll have no problems

Because this is what happens

to all traitors to this country

This man is a Red, an atheist and an enemy of Spain

Look at him

Take a good look

Let this be an example

Mayor, do you know this Catalonian? Antonio whatshisname

He's the schoolteacher

Can you confirm he's a Red? And an enemy of the country?

That's right

Is that man your teacher?

Yes

What did he teach you at school?

I hear you made books

I want everyone to go home, and bring any shit book or notebook

that has to do with this Communist teacher Move it

The box

Let's go

Come on, we haven't got all day

You'd better not be hiding any

Or else

Hurry

Look at your damn printing press

This is the price to be paid

by those wanting to pervert Spain

You got that?

Long live Spain

Hurray

Stop, stop right there

Go on, towards Briviesca

Hey

Antonio

Antonio, it's me, Rodriguez

It's all right, easy now

Look

A bit of water

Slowly

Slowly

Slowly

Antonio, look

This is Bernardo

Carlos' father

Thank you for looking after my son

Look

Okay, easy

- Come on, move - No, please

- He's too weak - Move over

He can't move

Please

Now what?

Ari

Your grandad has had another stroke

Is he all right?

A bit better now

But he hardly reacts to anything

Ari, please, why don't you leave it and come back home?

We need you here, with us

Mum

I missed you

I missed you too, lots

What are you playing?

Hopscotch

Run along then

Grandad

Dad

Dad, Ari has come back

Look, Grandad

That's you

Grandad, I'm going to read you something

The Sea: pictured by children who've never seen it

"The sea:

pictured by children who've never seen it

The sea must be very wide and huge

But most of all, deep"

"Boats sail on it

There must be sand on the shore

People will swim in it

Nearby there'll be a hut to dry off when they come out of the water"

"Josefina Zamero"

"The sea is very big"

"And to get over to the other village

you have to go by boat

I guess it must take over an hour

The sea will be very clear

Otherwise, people would be stupid to swim in it"

"Emilio Martinez"

"In the sea

there will be more water than all the earth I've ever seen"

"The water will be warmer than the water in rivers

And it must be very salty

They catch hake and cod in the sea

All kinds offish

I've never seen the sea"

"The teacher said

he'll take us to see it"

CARLOS RAMÍREZ

In the mass graves at La Pedraja the remains of 135 bodies were found

None were the remains of Antonio Benaiges, who is still missing

In 2015, the village of Bañuelos de Bureba founded the association

"Escuela Antonio Benaiges" to spread his memory and legacy

Up to now, in Spain, the remains of 12,000 people have been exhumed

It is estimated that thousands are still to be found

Their relatives continue searching

All my thanks to

Miguel Angel Martinez Movilla,

for his fight for the exhumation of La Pedraja mass graves

Sergi Bernal, for researching and sharing the story of Antonio Benaiges

José Antonio Abella, for all his help during the film's documentation process

The Adeco Bureba Association, for their collaboration during the filming

The Escuela Benaiges Association, for keeping the teacher's memory alive

Antoni Benaiges' family