Marco Bechis premieres dictatorship drama at Venice Film Festival

Director Marco Bechis has premiered his film ‘Ritorno a Buenos Aires’ at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. An Italian-Chilean-Argentine co-production between Italy and Brazil, the film competes for the Golden Lion.

Set in 2008, the drama follows Mariano Guerra, an Italian doctor played by Adriano Giannini, who returns to Argentina to testify in a trial against former military officers responsible for his kidnapping and torture during the country's dictatorship. The narrative explores the psychological weight of being a survivor, focusing on the internal conflict and guilt experienced by those who lived while others disappeared.

Bechis, who was himself detained and tortured by the Argentine military in 1977, stated that the film aims to provide testimony through fiction. He noted that the story is inspired by the collective wounds of the era, connecting the historical struggle for justice with contemporary global conflicts.