Wednesday,
September 19 - Friday, September 21
DocumentaChile
Co-presented
by DocumentaChile
 DocumentaChile
is a nonprofit organization founded by Chilean professionals
with an interest in culture which strives to find and circulate
those works that have received acclaim at the more than ten
annual film festivals throughout Chile. This series of documentaries
was exhibited in the Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico
City and the Latin American Documentary Festival in the city
of Albacete, Spain as well as at New York University's King
Juan Carlos I of Spain Center.
Through these works, and with the kind support of the Ministry
of External Relations of Chile (MINREL), and the Consulate of
Chile in Philadelphia, and Asociacion de Documentalistas de
Chile (ADOC), these film offer a window into the world of Chilean
cinema focused on the themes of everyday Chile, which in their
simplicity and variety unveil fascinating stories and help us
understand Chile today.
DocumentaChile was curated by Gabriel Berrios.
Wednesday,
September 19 at 6pm
Opening
Reception with Welcoming Remarks by Benjamin Leavenworth, Honorary
Chilean Consul in Philadelphia. Filmmaker Christian Leighton
in person.
followed
at 7pm by
Road
Signs (Senales De Ruta)
dir.
Tevo Diaz, Chile, 2000, DVD, 34 mins, color, Spanish w/ English
subtitles
 Road
Signs is about the
work and thoughts of the Chilean poet Juan Luis Martinez (1942-1993).
The sublime landscape of Chile is shown on the pages of The
New Novel (1977) and Chilean Poetry (1978), exploring
the literary and existential visions of two key personalities
in Chilean political history: Miguel Serrano and Volodia Teitelboim.
This documentary is
a
literary synthesis put into film.
followed
by
The
Runner or the minimal story of Edwin Valdebenito
(El
Corredor o la historia minima de Edwin Valdebenito
dir.
Christian Leighton, Chile, 2004, DVD, 75 mins, color, Spanish
w/ English subtitles
 Edwin
Valdebenito is a modest man of few words who works a routine
job in a state office. He is also a long distance runner who
trains daily so he can participate in the ultra-marathon. Every
morning he risks his life by running along the highway, driven
by his desire that becomes more intense and more painful with
each passing day; living a double life where only his passion
can rescue him from the darkness of the boredom of his existence.
Thursday,
September 20 at 7pm
Ma
Pacha Utjiana
dir.
Alex Moya, Chile, 2004, DVD, 31 mins, color, Spanish w/ English
subtitles
In
the interior villages of Quebrada de Tarapaca, the people believe
the voices of their ancestors speak through the rituals, customs,
myths and legends of their culture and that these traditions
must be respected as they hold the key to maintaining balance
and harmony between the worlds. The film presents three legends:
The Damned – the story of a man who continues living after death;
Los Gentiles – the story of the small people who inhabited the
earth during a time when the sun did not exist; and Tatasavaya
– the story of the great hill that both gives life and takes
it away. Through these stories and through the rituals
of the Feast of Usmagama, the viewer visits the magic universe
that surrounds the villages of Tarapaca in a time-defying journey
through this rich heritage.
followed
by
The
Ransack (Uxuf Xipay)
dir.
Dauno Totoro, Chile, 2004, DVD, 73 mins, color, Spanish w/ English
subtitles
 This
film addresses the multiplicity of dimensions behind the Mapuche’s
(the Indigenous inhabitants
of Central and Southern Chile)
resistance movement over the past 120 years. Focusing
on the consequences the struggle has had on this native community,
the investigation also looks at the impact felt by the Chilean
government and the powerful world of business. This documentary
offers an analysis of the Mapuche’s current methods of resistance
and strategies to rescue traditions lost.
Friday,
September 21 at 7pm
The
Damned, The Story Of The Fiskales Ad Hok
(Malditos,
La Historia De Los Fiskales Ad-Hok)
dir.
Pablo Insulza, Chile, 2004, DVD, 71 mins, color, Spanish w/
English subtitles
 In
1986 in Santiago, Chile, Alvaro and Roli meet on the street
and in no time form the most important Chilean punk rock band
ever: Fiskales Ad Hoc. The Damned shows the crazy
and difficult days of the band members fighting against the
system, taking the viewer on a trip through the last 18 years
in Chile.
followed
by
Camera
in Hand (Camara en mano)
dir.
Paulo Figueroa, Chile, 2006, DVD, 32 mins, color, Spanish w/
English subtitles
Director
Paulo Figueroa in person
 Camera
in Hand is
a documentary in search of answers
to
questions surrounding the identity of Antofagasta, the
second largest city in Chile and it's inhabitants through
the singular perspective of the group Camara
en mano - four public school students who investigate
their reality using audiovisual tools. Throughout this
process of youthful search and discovery, through their achievements
and challenges, their moments of happiness and frustration,
the identity of a city with many faces comes into focus.
Best
Documentary, International Film Festival the North of Chile,
2006
Please
Note - Somewhere In Heaven is replaced by Camera in Hand
|
