Cinema Tropical, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University (CLACS NYU) and the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) have announced the realization of 'Chile:40,' a special film series observing the 40th anniversary of the Chilean coup d’etat. The September 11, 1973 event overthrew the democratically-elected government of Salvador Allende and installed the notorious dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, lasting until 1990 and having immense international consequences.
Programmed by Jerónimo Rodríguez and José Miguel Palacios, 'Chile: 40' will present six different programs in different parts of New York City and in conjunction with other organizations including UnionDocs, New York University, and Columbia University. The series will feature recent and older films showcasing different aspects of the aftermath and of legacy of the coup in the South American country and internationally from 1973 to the present.
The series will present three films by Ignacio Agüero, one of the most prominent documenterians to emerge from Latin America and considered a cornerstone for understanding today's democratic Chile. The Chilean filmmaker will travel to New York to present his documentary films No olvidar (1982), which was secretly filmed during the dictatorship and follows the kidnapping and murder of five men whose bodies were found after five years of searching; Agustín's Newspaper (2009, pictured right) which questions the responsibility and role of El Mercurio newspaper in human rights violations committed during Pinochet's dictatorship; and Aqui se construye / Under Construction (2000), which isconsidered one of the most important films in the history of Chilean cinema, in which the director takes the stance of an anonymous war correspondent in an undeclared war where the battlefield is the city and its inhabitants never learn about the destruction of their past.
The series will also feature program “9/11/1973: The Public Life Of An Endless Day,” screening very-rarely-seen revolutionary films, video art, cine-tracts, performance pieces and televisual work. This program will also feature a roundtable discussion featuring prominent Chilean artists, scholars and filmmakers will also reflect on the coup's event status and on the extent to which it persists and reverberates in the present.
Jean de Certeau and Marcela Said's El Mocito andElena Varela's Newen Mapuche: The Force of the People of the Land complete the program, which will take place between September 11 and October 1. For complete schedule click here.
