In Uruguay under the military dictatorship, in September 1973 the Tupamaros guerrilla group that fights against the military government breaks down and all the key members are imprisoned. One day they are secretly transferred to a military prison, beginning a 12-year-long prison term. Living beneath even the most minimal conditions, they have to endure harsh torture and painful loneliness. With A Twelve-Year-Night, Alvaro Brechner visits Busan for a third time, following his debut film Bad Day to Go Fishing (2009) and Mr. Kaplan (2014). A Twelve-Year-Night depicts the story of Jose “PePe” Mujica, who became the President of Uruguay, and his fellows. Instead of paying attention to the political hardships of the prisoners and dramatic compositions of inhumanity inside prisons, the film carefully watches how the absolute isolation and darkness affects the characters’ minds and what made them to survive such extreme circumstances. Throughout history, as we already know the light came to them after 12 years of night, it’s natural that we applaud their struggles. (Jin Park)
Alvaro BRECHNER
Now based in Madrid, Alvaro Brechner studied filmmaking in his hometown, Montevideo, Uruguay, before travelling to the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona to study Creative Documentary. His feature debut, Bad Day to go Fishing (2009), premiered at Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival. His second feature, Mr. Kaplan (2014), was selected for many film festivals, including BIFF.