The murder of the Colombian doctor, politician and human rights advocate, Héctor Abad Gómez, is the event that motivated his son, Héctor Abad Faciolince, to write Oblivion: A Memoir, which tells the story of his father. This in turn has led the film director, Fernando Trueba, to adapt the book for cinema.

Trueba is one of Spain’s most acclaimed directors. With a filmography of nearly 20 films, he has made works of comedy (Two Much, Sal gorda), drama (El año de las luces, Twisted Obsession, The Girl of Your Dreams, The Queen of Spain), documentary (Calle 54, Mientras el cuerpo aguante) and animated film (Chico and Rita). His shelves sport an Oscar, nine Goya Awards and various other international prizes.

The journalist, writer and publisher Héctor Abad Faciolince has won numerous awards in his country, Colombia, as well as in Spain, where he was awarded the first Casa de América Innovative Fiction Prize for his novel Basura. However, it was Oblivion: A Memoir, the novel that tells the story of his father, which brought him to prominence in the world of Spanish-language literature. Abad Faciolince has not only won awards for his fiction writing, but also for his work as a columnist. As a publisher, in 2016 he created the company Angosta, an independent publisher in Colombia that bears the name of one of his novels.

This conversation is part of the Hay and Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos Dialogues initiative promoting knowledge among writers of different nationalities but with a shared language and literary tradition.