The documentary ‘El Fotografía de La 40’ premieres in the Dominican Republic, shedding light on the forgotten story of Pedro Aníbal Fuentes Berg, a photographer who challenged the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina and captured the horrors experienced by opponents of the tyrant in a clandestine prison. Directed by Erika Santelices and Orlando Barría, the 76-minute film competes in the Documentary First Feature category at the Global Film Festival.
Fuentes Berg, forced by authorities to photograph prisoners being tortured in La 40, managed to send the images abroad, exposing the atrocities committed during Trujillo’s regime. One of these snapshots, featuring the anti-Trujillista José Mesón, holds a significant place in the fight against the dictatorship.
The documentary, produced by Fernando Santos Díaz with music by maestro Manuel Tejada, serves as a tribute to Fuentes Berg and a call to preserve history. It features testimonies from Fuentes Berg’s children and those of other anti-Trujillo leaders. The filmmakers aimed to make this part of history known, emphasizing that it encompasses not just the story of a photographer, but that of an entire country.