Under the Flags, the Sun (Spanish: Bajo las banderas, el sol) is a 2025 documentary film written, co-produced and directed by Juanjo Pereira in his debut feature.[1] The film is a visual journey through the history of the media of the 20th century and delivers an archaeology of the present in a country where the descendants of the regime’s leaders still rule.[2]
In 1989, Paraguay’s long dictatorship under Alfredo Stroessner ended after 35 years. When his regime collapsed, the government’s media archives used to promote and glorify his rule, were abandoned and forgotten.
Decades later, a vast collection of recovered footage and documents from Paraguay and abroad reveals how media was used to manipulate history, promote propaganda, and sustain authoritarian control. This film explores the hidden machinery behind Stroessner’s regime, from domestic indoctrination to Cold War alliances, offering a striking visual journey through 20th-century media and its lasting impact on a nation still influenced by its authoritarian past.
Production
The film received international funding throughout its production and post-production processes. In 2024, it won a third-place First Look award at the Pitch Forum of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. It also won the APORDOC Arché Award at the Doclisboa, first place at the Mercado Entre Fronteras (Gramado, Brazil), and was selected to participate in the MAFIZ at Málaga Film Festival. It was supported by: Ibermedia Program, Paraguayan National Audiovisual Institute (INAP), National Fund for Culture and the Arts (Fondec), Argentine National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, IDFA Bertha Fund (Netherlands) and Aide aux Cinémas du Monde (France).[7] It won the FIDBA Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival, Doc at the seventh MAFIZ, the industry area of the Málaga Film Festival in March 2024.[8]
The film was made by Ivana Urízar, Paula Zyngierman and Leandro Listorti, Gabriela Sabaté, and Pereira. It was co-produced with Bird Street Production and Lardux Films, with Welt Film joining as an associate producer.[9]
On March 10, 2025, it competed in the International Competition at the 27th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival vying for the Golden Alexander.[11] On 14 April 2025, it was presented in the 'Documentary Time' at the International Istanbul Film Festival.[12] It also made it to a new section 'Political Studies', that "explores the influence of those in power on our reality and dissects their methods of action" at the 22nd Millennium Docs Against Gravity and was presented on 9 May 2025.[13]
On 18 June, it was screened in the Memories Strands of the Sheffield DocFest for its United Kingdom premiere.[14]
It also competed in Ciné+ Competition at the FIDMarseille in July 2025.[15]
The film is scheduled for commercial release on September 18, 2025, in Paraguayan theaters.[19]
In February 2025, Cinephil acquired the international sales rights of the film.[20] In August Icarus Films, a distributor of documentary films in North America, acquired the North American rights of the film.[21]
Reception
In his review at Berlinale, Marc van de Klashorst of the International Cinephile Society rated the film with 3.5 stars out of five and described it as "A somber film that is made for our times, but not for most of our audiences." Klashorst praised the climax shot of the film concluding the review, he wrote, that the film ends with a powerful image: just the feet of a huge statue of Stroessner, while the rest of it lies forgotten among other trash in a storage room. It’s a sad story overall, but this final scene gives a sense of hope and feels very relevant to today’s world.[22]
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