To effectively convey the important message of our campaign, we crafted a series of three short films, aiming for the realism that a topic like this demands. We carefully adopted a documentary-inspired style, incorporating the journalists' notes into the scripts to shed light on the motives behind their murders.

Mexico is the deadliest country in the world for journalists, with 26 murdered in the last two years alone. Journalists killed in Mexico face a double injustice: their motives are dismissed, and potential suspects are overlooked. Public discussions veer towards irrelevant personal details, silencing these

voices and burying their crucial stories. This shift perpetuates a dangerous cycle of impunity for their killers.

“29 Casquillos” tells the story of Miguel Ángel López Velasco, murdered in his own home in Veracruz in 2011 alongside his wife and son.

The piece is titled "29 Casquillos" due to the violence with which this murder was committed; 29 gun casings were found at the crime scene.

To shed light on this grim reality, Propuesta Cívica, an NGO that legally represents the families of the victims, recreated the last moments in the lives of three of the most relevant cases of journalist assassinations in the country over the past decade, all of which remain unpunished.

With the upcoming presidential election in Mexico, we wanted to put this issue in the public agenda, looking for the candidates to take a stance and commit to take action to protect journalists.

29 CASQUILLOS

Milo's Family is having dinner. MILO is looking at different notes and papers.

SON: What are you up to, Dad?

MILO hides the papers.

MILO: Nothing, nothing. This isn't for you.

In his room, Milo finishes showering and gets ready to go to work early in the morning.

At her house, Agustina Melo sleeps on the couch with the TV on. Two masked individuals with weapons enter the house. They wake the woman up and force her to keep quiet. She resists, struggles, and knocks the television to the ground, changing the channel to one where a journalist is revealing Milo's story. The TV volume intensifies.

The hitmen advance with her, holding a gun to her head, and climb the stairs until they reach Milo's room. Milo is peering out and startles, beginning to call for help. One of the masked men stays inside, the other closes the door, and the camera remains outside. They open fire, killing them.

The camera moves to the son's room, who wakes up startled. He tries to hide in the closet, but the door to his room collapses, and he is murdered.

As they leave, the camera returns to the TV, still on with the story Milo was about to reveal.

REPORTER ON TV: We continue with the case of our colleague Milo Vela on the night of April 7th, 2005. The director of the newspaper "La Opinión de Poza Rica" was murdered. The Regional Deputy Attorney in the northern area of the state did nothing but freeze the investigation. The journalist and whistleblower published about it in his column, stating verbatim: "You can review the files of the first murder of a journalist in the administration of the government of Veracruz, and you will see that the only procedures carried out were the body's removal, a forensic van, as well as the identification and delivery of the journalist's body."

The criminals had an eight-hour head start. From then on, there was no order to search for or track down those responsible for this crime. To this day, no one has followed up on this murder case. Six years later, the crime remains unsolved.

CUT TO BLACK.