The Mexican Suitcase
212 Berlin
Director: TRISHA ZIFF
For years there persisted a rumor that a suitcase, lost in the chaos of World War II, containing the negatives of photojournalists Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and David “Chim” Seymour taken during the Spanish Civil War had survived. Decades later, the wayward suitcase was discovered in Mexico City, among the belongings of the Mexican ambassador to Vichy France and finally returned to Cornell Capa, the younger brother of Robert Capa and the founder of the International Center of Photography in New York City.
The film showcases the photos and the photojournalists’ work during Spain’s civil war– a battle between communist and fascist that began in 1936 with a failed coup, and killed half a million people before General Franco won control in 1939– and the continuing struggle to come to terms with the country’s painful history.
Ziff weaves in personal, often painful accounts of biographies of those who had survived the war by fleeing Spain, many unable to forget even to this day.
Within these diverging narratives, through various interviews with experts in the industry, the film pays tribute to the spirit of three extraordinary photographers Capa, Tara and Seymour who passionately believed that photographs could change and shape the way we see the world.
- TIME
