The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances has been celebrated every Aug. 30 for the past 10 years. The date was declared by the UN to remember the people who have been detained, hidden and reported missing in the world, a problem so complex and devastating that still persists.

This year, in commemoration of the day, the National Cinematheque of Mexico hosted the Cycle: Enforced Disappearence and collaborated with the Ministry of the Interior to screen five films free of charge until Sept. 2. The screening began on Monday, Aug. 30, and the films bring to the table a series of reflections on the subject.

The five films selected for the day are Sin señas particulares, by Mexican director Fernanda Valadez; Dato sensible, a short film by Anne Huffschmid and Alfonso Díaz Tovar; Ausencias, by Cannes Festival award-winning filmmaker Tatiana Huezo; Te nombré en silencio by José María Espinosa; and Persistencia by Anne Huffschmid and Jan-Holger Hennies, a documentary about the desert of Coahuila and Colinas de Santa Fe in Veracruz — sites known for being extermination zones. 

Each story told in the films, although painful, are a contribution to raise awareness about a persistent issue in society. All screenings take place in the Open Air Forum of the National Cinematheque, in person, free of charge, and follow the sanitary protocols and social distancing necessary given the global pandemic.