Documentary reveals little-known stories of Malvinas exiles
By Pablo Suarez
POINTS: 6
The Argentine documentary Exilio de Malvinas, written and directed by Federico J. Palma, tells three stories about Malvinas residents who, for different reasons, were forced to leave the islands and move to the mainland. Three stories of individuals who defied the rules and decided to stand for their principles.
First comes Alexander Betts, who has long vindicated Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas. Facing strong opposition from his family, friends, and neighbours, Betts nonetheless maintained his political views and was eventually asked to leave the islands. So he moved to the province of Córdoba to continue with his work. In fact, for quite a long time now, he’s been a representative for Argentina at the UN Decolonization Committee for the Malvinas.
Second, there’s visual artist James Peck, whose problems began with the arrival of María, also an artist who discovered Peck’s work in one of her visits to the islands. María and James fell in love and she would eventually give birth to a son in 2002. But according to the government of the Malvinas, the child had to be born on the mainland because his mother was Argentine. So the couple left the island and settled in Buenos Aires.
Third, Mike Bingham, an English biologist who moved to the Malvinas to study and protect its fauna, discovers that the penguins’ population was diminishing considerably due to lack of food. But behind this symptom were the dubious business conducted by private companies unofficially allowed to fish with no limits whatsoever. Bingham decided to struggle against the powers-that-be, but sooner rather than later he was persecuted and often threatened. So his only way out was exile.
Exilio de Malvinas is not what you’d call a creative documentary in terms of film form. On the contrary: it’s quite conventional as it features interviews before the camera, archive footage, drawings, newspaper clips, photographs, and current footage of the places where the interviewees reside. And yet this is not to say it’s not worth watching. Palma’s merit lies in how clearly and accurately he draws both a general panorama and the individual stories within it. Informative and accessible, Exilio de Malvinas never loses its focus and its ideological viewpoint. It’s very critical about the many guilty parties involved in dirty business, yet it’s not belligerent or agitated. In fact, the reflexive tone accompanying the testimonies invites viewers to take a stand in favour of the issues exposed by the interviewees.
However, perhaps because of its predictable dramatic structure, Exilio de Malvinas does become repetitive from time to time. Not that it had to be groundbreaking to be more engaging, but if it toyed with these conventional tools in a riskier manner, with some unforeseen twists or with a better dramatic progression, then it would have had a stronger emotional and intellectual impact.
As it is, Palma’s outing is more than enjoyable and should be of great use to anyone interested in finding out little-known stories of exile from the Malvinas. That is to say, stories speaking of a bigger picture that’s far from pretty.
Production notes
Exilio de Malvinas (Argentina, 2015). Written, directed, and edited by Federico J. Palma. With Alejandro Betts, James Peck, Mike Bingham. Cinematography: Aylén López. Running time: 66 minutes.
@pablsuarez
