Sea's Daughter

The chronicle of the process, ten long years, that led to the end of ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), a Basque terrorist gang that perpetrated robberies, kidnappings and murders in Spain and the French Basque Country for more than fifty years. Almost 1,000 people died, but others are still alive to tell the story of how the nightmare finally ended.

An attempt to create a bridge between the different political positions that coexist, sometimes violently, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain.

San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain, June 27, 1960. A bomb explodes at the Amara train station. Begoña, a child of only twenty months, dies a few hours later as a result of the injuries sustained in the attack.

The turbulent story of the Lagun bookstore — located in San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, Spain — is a powerful tale of courage, resistance and struggle; first against the Franco dictatorship, then against the terrorist gang ETA and its numerous and sinister acolytes.

Spain, 1997. The story of twelve days in July during which Basque society left indifference and fear behind and faced the threat of the terrorist group ETA.

The relatives of the victims of the terrorist gang ETA speak of their suffering, their fear, their loneliness; of the systematic oblivion to which they are subjected by Basque society, both by those who remain silent and look the other way and by those who, accomplices of the criminals, share their repugnant ideology and celebrate extortion, kidnapping and murder, thus contributing to perpetuating a bloody reign of terror.

When he was just a child, Jon discovered his father's past, Iñaki Viar, linked to ETA. Son, grandson, and great-grandson of Basque nationalists, Iñaki was arrested in 1969 by the political-social brigade and tried alongside Teo Uriarte and Mario Onaindia in the Burgos Trial. Years later, he organized the escape from Segovia and, finally, in 1977, he regained his freedom. Iñaki, like many other prisoners, renounces nationalism and condemns terrorist violence. Jon, a film buff, tries to understand his father's past while living with attacks, kidnappings, and a lot of silence. By then, Iñaki is already considered a "traitor" by the nationalist world.

A young journalist travels to the Basque Country to meet with those responsible for the murders committed by the terrorist group ETA and their ideological accomplices. On his journey, he interviews repentant terrorists, those responsible for crimes who are now integrated into their communities, and those convicted of terrorism who now hold positions as mayors, parliamentarians, or university professors, to hear their explanations about their past links to the ultra-nationalist network and to find out what mark terrorism has left on the Basque Country after its long and painful existence.

Five directors portray five Basque political prisoners. A young woman counts the days remaining before she is arrested. A man returns to society after 17 years in prison. A mother records every phone conversation she had with her imprisoned daughter on 125 cassette tapes. An intellect and professor of journalism tries to find himself from the solitude of his cell. And a former ETA leader reconnects with a close friend from his youth, now a filmmaker. 'Windows Looking Inward' gives a brief insight into the lives of the people behind the bars, behind the events, behind the headlines.

At just 17 years old, Eduardo Madina and Borja Semper decided to enter politics to defend freedom of thought in the Basque Country. This made them a target of the ETA terrorist group for almost two decades.