National and Transnational Dimensions of Memory inMatar a todosandPaisito

This article investigates the national and transnational dimensions of the representation of memory in two contemporary Uruguayan films, Esteban Schroeder’s Matar a todos (Kill Them All, 2007) and Ana Diez’s Paisito (Small Country, 2008). These films revisit the traumas and after-effects of the Southern Cone dictatorships that came to power in the early and mid-1970s. As co-productions, Matar a todos and Paisito rely on the representation of prosthetic memories, but the artificial nature of these memories may be problematic for different audiences. Thus, this article not only considers these films’ depiction of a traumatic past, but also their circulation in and beyond Uruguay and the challenge of engaging transnational audiences.