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A nursing home aide from Africa. An actor from Colombia. A U.S. Navy veteran from Chicago and a physician from Guatemala. So different at first glance, they have a horrific experience in common: they all have been tortured. Rarely given a voice, they are among the 500,000 torture survivors who live in the U.S. As they share their powerful stories, we follow them through the daunting steps of building new lives, careers, and relationships. And despite the continued psychological and physical fallout from their experience, they feel empowered to speak out and become pubic advocates for an end to torture. Co-directed by independent filmmakers Ines Sommer and Kathy Berger, the new human rights documentary Beneath the Blindfold sensitively paints a holistic portrait of the survivors’ experiences, path to healing and life after torture.
NEWS Beneath the Blindfold premieres on Friday, January 13, 2012 at 8:15 pm at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute. Encore screening on Thursday, January 19 at 8pm. For details visit: www.siskelfilmcenter.orghttp://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction2012http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction2012http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction2012http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction2012shapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1shapeimage_4_link_2shapeimage_4_link_3

Four Survivors, One Truth: This Should Not Happen To Anyone

"Beneath the Blindfold is a beautiful film with genuine sensitivity and glow. You witness a triumph of our common humanity as people overcome the long lasting effects of torture and reclaim their dignity. Not to be missed." – Jerome McDonnell, host of Worldview, WBEZ-FM, Chicago Public Radio