“In 1979, Jaime Roldós Aguilera became the first democratically elected president of Ecuador; on May 24, 1981, he and his wife Martha died in a plane crash. Was it an accident or a premeditated attack on a young leader who had made a lot of powerful enemies in a very short time? If so, who was behind it? And is it a coincidence that several of Roldós's supporters also died in plane crashes? Directors Manolo Sarmiento and Lisandra I. Rivera dive into the archives, talk about the affair with those close to it, and visit the three children Roldós and his wife left behind.

This investigative documentary is an attempt to find out what was really going on behind the scenes. What secret powers and interests were pulling the strings? The personal accounts about the background combine with the aftermath of Roldós's death to create a drama of Shakespearean proportions. Additional information adds new perspectives to official archive footage. The directors hope that this thoroughly researched film will provide answers to questions and fearful suspicions. As Sarmiento explains in voice-over, although this drama is not widely known about, it played a crucial political role in Ecuador and neighboring Latin American countries,” —International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)



THE DEATH OF JAIME ROLDÓS / LA MUERTE DE JAIME ROLDÓS

A film by Lisandra I. Rivera and Manolo Sarmiento

(Ecuador/Argentina, 2013, 123 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)

Watch for free (available until Sunday, April 12):