In the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War tore apart the country and drew international attention. Three photographers - Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and David Seymour (known as "Chim") - were among those who documented the conflict, capturing powerful and often heartbreaking images of the people and events involved.
However, as the war came to a close, the negatives of thousands of these photos were lost, seemingly vanished into thin air. For decades, their whereabouts were unknown, and the images were presumed lost forever.
It was only in 2007 that they were rediscovered, in a most unexpected place. A woman named Marina Garcia Burgos had inherited a suitcase from her mother, who had herself inherited it from her employer - a man who had worked for a film lab in the 1950s. When Marina opened the suitcase, she found thousands of negatives, many of them reflecting the horrors and sorrows of the Spanish Civil War.
Marina didn't know what to do with the negatives, but eventually she got in touch with the International Center of Photography in New York City. They confirmed that the photos were indeed the lost negatives of Capa, Taro, and Chim, and worked to preserve and restore them.
The documentary film The Mexican Suitcase explores this fascinating story, delving into the history of the war and the lives of the three photographers who captured it. It also raises questions about the role of photography in conflict, and the importance of preserving historical documents for future generations.