“My Father’s People,” a documentary produced and directed by two SMU alumni, Paul Lima and John Snow, premiered on Saturday at the Ninth Annual Vistas Latin Film Festival, hosted by the Angelika Theater in Mockingbird Station.
The film tells the story of Lima’s father, Alberto, who was abducted and brutally murdered in Honduras while on a business trip to settle a dispute with a local bakery in which he had invested $85,000. Through interview-style reporting, the film exposes the incompetence of the U.S. embassy in Honduras and the general apathy of the U.S. government toward finding Lima’s murderer, Oral Coleman.
Documenting the family’s search for Coleman in a variety of Honduran locales, the film takes the perspective of Paul Lima, showing the intensity and passion that he exhibited in seeking justice for his father’s death, while at the same time centering on the U.S. Government’s inability to contribute to this justice.
“All the embassy does for Americans is issue new passports and direct you to a hospital if you are sick. If you are a murdered American, they will do nothing for you and your family,” said Lima in a question and answer session after the film’s viewing.
When the local police did recover Alberto’s body, the embassy demanded $10,000 within 24 hours from the Lima family to transport the body back to America. The family received the call at 7 p.m. on a Friday, rendering it impossible to procure $10,000 because the banks were already closed.
“It’s not just another case to us,” Lima said. “He’s my father.”
Lima’s persistence in tracking down Oral Coleman paid off when he assisted the local police in arresting him. However, because of a technicality in Honduran law, Coleman was set free within the year.
Making a statement about the inefficiency of the bureaucracy, concerning the lack of communication between the State Department, the embassy, and local police, the film sends a strong message to American tourists.
“Only two percent of the 6,000 American deaths oversees are ever resolved,” Lima said. “And only seven percent of the Americans murders in Honduras end in a conviction. We really are on our own when we travel. Where are our tax dollars going? The embassy is supposed to protect us.”
However, Lima is relieved to discover that as a result of his film, the Honduran police have created a special task force with the sole purpose of solving American murder cases, and 15 cases have been solved since its inception.
“You’ve got to take a look at the system,” Lima said, “recognize its faults and try and do something that will bring about some progress. That’s what this film is all about.”
