May 20 2013 – There is a price one pays for being a wealthy, charismatic but incorruptible attorney in Guatemala City. For years Rodrigo Rosenberg-Marzano had witnessed the country he loved slowly eroding with devastating consequences. With a murder rate four times higher than Mexico, Rodrigo was tired. Tired of the narco-traffickers flooding the streets with drugs and violence. Tired of the political corruption causing rampant imbalances within the government. Tired of the international money laundering ingrained the banking system and tired of the escalating mafia control that has hijacked any semblance of stability with Guatemala.
Thirteen years after the end of a long and brutal civil war, political murders are still commonplace. Rodrigo didn’t ask to be a hero, or martyr, but he had no illusions that his unwavering conviction for justice in the face of entrenched corruption and layers of rot could be his undoing. For him, the time had come to stand up to these pillars of injustice as an agent for change regardless of the consequences. While investigating the recent murder of his politically connected client, clear evidence was leading him into the uncharted corridors of power, but still he pressed on. On Sunday May 10th, 2009 at 8 am, Rodrigo was gunned down in a contract killing less than 800 meters from his home. Such is the premise of this non-linear politically charged documentary, I Will Be Murdered.
This Guatemalan born, Cambridge and Harvard educated lawyer set in motion a firestorm at his funeral with reverberations that touched all demographics of Guatemalan society. Each attendee at the funeral received a DVD entitled, “My Testimony”. On it Rodrigo states, “Sadly ladies and gentlemen, if you’re watching this video, it’s because I’ve been murdered by President, Alvaro Colom.” That statement was the statement that changed everything. Print and mainstream media ran the story but it wasn’t until social media and YouTube went viral saturating the social conscience of Guatemalans that the murder of this prominent lawyer may have been orchestrated by the upper echelons of government. Calls for a transparent investigation were demanded by the opposition leader General Otto Perez Molina. National coverage on CNN en Espanol pressed the president on Rodrigo’s incendiary allegation and the appropriateness of temporarily stepping down in light of the situation. Colom staunchly refused to resign his presidency citing a lack of proof all the while secretly harbouring fears of a coup.
Director, Justin Webster used son Eduardo Rosenberg-Marzano’s detailed narration to seamlessly capture the multiple storylines of his father’s life through the years. By back filling his history, we able to truly understand Rodrigo the lawyer, the activist, the father and the fears that ultimately expose the depths of one man’s journey for truth. Special Prosecutor, Carlos Castresana was appointed to lead the investigation into Rodrigo’s death and he began with the politically charged YouTube clip. This combined with Rodrigo’s client list and some hard-boiled sleuthing unearthed the embers of his Rod’s murder that connects right back to the murder of his client and beyond. This case is especially relevant for Castresana, since he was appointed head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CIGIC), an organization pioneered by the United Nations to combat corruption in Guatemala’s political system. Castresana elaborates on the ramifications and sensitivities of the case given the consequences that a verdict would deliver. Frightfully aware, he treads carefully.
Review: 4 / 5: I Will Be Murdered is a thoroughly engrossing documentary up there with the very best that PBS and the Passionate Eye have to offer. Cleverly constructed and interwoven with a labyrinth of sub plots and storylines, this procedural investigation slowly peels back layer after layer of evidence carefully evaluating what lies beneath. The truth is sometimes really stranger than fiction and Director Justin Webster’s mesmerizing documentary convincingly bears this out. Through a combination of interviews with friends, family, investigators and closed circuit surveillance footage, Webster’s ultimate path to the truth of Rodrigo’s death will confound and illuminate all.
Guatemala’s entrenched corruption of violence may never change, but one man will risk his life trying.
Genres: Documentary
Country: UK|Spain
Language: Spanish (English Subtitles)
Director: Justin Webster
Writer: Justin Webster
Executive Producer: Sumpta Ayuso
Running Time: 88 minutes
Co-Production: BBC + Storyville
