The Mexican Suitcase

This week, the uncomparable Frontline Club in London highlighted a documentary about the "Mexican Suitcase", the famous boxes the photographer Robert Capa lost during the Spanish Civil War, which ended up travelling from Paris to Mexico. Hence the documentary name.

The same event will also be at the centre of a coming exhibition in Paris. It will be presented at the Jewish Museum, MAHJ, rue du Temple from January. 

These events emphasise a surprising story and the remarquable work of three great photographers during an exceptional era.


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Here is the presentation of the film by the Frontline Club: 

Screening: The Mexican Suitcase + Q&A

"In the chaos caused by the beginning of World War II in Europe, three small boxes disappeared to be found again in a closet in Mexico City in 2007. They contained 4,500 unique negatives, the work of three friends; Robert Capa, David “Chim” Seymour and Gerda Taro.

Exiled from their respective countries they were committed anti-fascists and travelled to Spain to fight the rise of Franco with their cameras. Their vivid frontline photography captured the brutal realities of the Spanish Civil War. The Mexican Suitcase reveals the journey these lost negatives made from France to Mexico and tells the story of their recovery 70 years later.

By putting the photographs in the context of the Spanish Civil War and the exiled community in Mexico, director Trisha Ziff looks at the power of memory and how it relates to history, questioning who owns memories and who has the power to define popular narratives".

Directed by Trisha Ziff
Duration:86′
Year: 2011

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You can watch the documentary's trailer here:

http://vimeo.com/27320940

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About the exhibition: 

ProchainementExposition

Robert Capa, Chim (David Seymour) et Gerda Taro
La Valise mexicaine
Les négatifs retrouvés de la guerre civile espagnole

27 février 2013 – 26 mai 2013

http://www.mahj.org/fr/3_expositions/expo-Robert-Capa-Chim-Gerda-Taro-Valise-mexicaine.php?niv=3&ssniv=1

4 500 négatifs d’images de la guerre civile espagnole, pour la plupart totalement inédites, prises entre 1936 et 1939 par Gerda Taro(compagne de Capa tragiquement disparue en 1937 pendant la bataille de Brunete), David Seymour, dit Chim, et Robert Capa : voilà ce que contient la « valise mexicaine », dont la trace avait été perdue depuis 1939 et dont la redécouverte en 2008 a provoqué un engouement considérable dans l’univers du photoreportage et de la recherche historique. 

D’un exceptionnel intérêt documentaire sur la guerre d’Espagne, ces films et clichés racontent aussi l’histoire de trois célèbres photographes juifs, totalement investis dans la cause républicaine et antifasciste, qui, au prix de risques considérables, ont jeté les bases de la photographie de guerre actuelle et donné ses lettres de noblesse au photoreportage engagé.


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If you know French - Read Le Monde 's article published during the Rencontres d'Arles:

Confusions autour de la « Valise mexicaine » de Robert Capa

http://expo-photo.blog.lemonde.fr/2011/07/06/confusions-autour-de-la-valise-mexicaine-de-robert-capa/