Obscure Light

What does it mean to be the child of enemies of the state in a country of intense political oppression? Filmmaker Susana de Sousa Dias poses this question to three children of former Communist leader Octávio Pato. All three were born in Portugal during Europe’s longest-lasting dictatorship of the 20th century (1926–1974).

They were still very young when their parents were taken from a hiding place by the notorious Portuguese secret police (PIDE) to be imprisoned and tortured. Even as adults, Isabel, Àlvaro, and Rui still become deeply emotional as they speak about their memories of childhood and of parents they barely recognized upon their return.

We hear their harrowing stories, as images emerge from the darkness like ghosts: mugshots of their parents, covert surveillance footage made by the Portuguese police, and shots of what remains of their grandparents’ farm. Image and audio combine to form a striking testimony to the lasting harm a dictatorship can inflict.