Beneath the Blindfold (NR)

synopsis

Four survivors of political torture courageously share their stories as they struggle daily to overcome the physical and psychological effects of imprisonment and abuse. Chicago and Minneapolis are among the cities that these asylum seekers now call home, and the filmmakers follow Matilde de la Sierra, a Guatemalan physician; Blama Massaquoi, a former Liberian child soldier; Hector Aristizabal, a Colombian actor; and Don Vance, an American former contractor in Iraq, through the daunting steps of building new lives, careers, and relationships while coming to terms with a fearsome past. Conquering personal demons and facing the world at large comprise two sides of the same coin as these former victims become public advocates for an end to torture.