De tuin der afwezigen

Pilar Manjón lost her son in the terrorist attacks of 11 March 2004 in Madrid. Willy-nilly, she is the spokeswoman of the surviving relatives and victims, whom she considers her family: 'People who unwillingly accompanied my son on a journey nobody asked for.' The equally strong and vulnerable Manjón lends the 192 dead and 1500 injured a voice. 'To you, they're nothing but statistics', she snarled at the Spanish Congress in a speech that was broadcast live by a national network. She had to pay for it by receiving hate mail and threats by extreme rightwing people and now has a bodyguard. In the eyes of the relatives, the politicians only thought about electoral gain. The carefully composed documentary shows their faces while listening to 'Sketches of Pain', piano and cello music specially composed by the Dutch Paul van Brugge. (Nederlands Film Festival)