In 1989, the fall of Alfredo Stroessner’s 35-year dictatorship in Paraguay marked the end of one of the world’s longest authoritarian regimes, but also the abandonment of the audiovisual archives that had cemented its power. This footage, crafted to shape a national identity and celebrate the regime, was left to fade from memory.

Decades later, a trove of unseen and long forgotten footage—as newsreels, public television broadcasts, propaganda films, and declassified documents —has been recovered from Paraguay and abroad, revealing the hidden mechanisms of power behind Stroessner’s rule.

Watch the film here.