Cinema of Chile

Origins

The first Chilean film was shown in Valparaiso at the Odeon Theater on May 26, 1902. This 3-minute tape titled Fire Brigade Training ( Spanish: Ejercicio General del Cuerpo de Bomberos ) was dedicated to firefighters maneuvers in Anibal Pinto Square in Santiago ^[1] . No data has been preserved about the director and film crew of this film, and only 27-second episode, which is stored at the Catholic University of Valparaiso, has survived from the tape to date ^[2] .

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the country's independence, which was celebrated in 1910, several documentaries were released: “The Sight of the Transandin Chilean-Argentine Road”, “Landscape of Saltpeter Mines”, “Opening of the Palace of Fine Arts”.

The silent movie era

In the 1910s, film companies were created in Santiago and Valparaiso - Jambastiani Films, Hans-Frey Films, Andes Films, which initially produced documentaries such as Ancient Santiago (1915), “ Students' holiday ”(1916),“ Memories of the El Tenient Mine ”(1919).

In 1910, the first full-length film Manuel Rodriguez was released (directed by Adolfo Ursua, starring Nicanor de la Sotta), dedicated to the life of Chilean national hero Manuel Rodriguez ^[3] . Since 1917, the regular release of full-length feature films began; in the early 1920s, 10-12 films a year were shot (16 films in 1925).

Among the first Chilean filmmakers were Salvatore Giambastini, Juan Perez Berrocal, Jorge “Coca” Delano, Nicanor de la Sotta, Carlos Borkoske i Alberto Santana, Pedro Cienna. Among the most famous films of silent Chilean cinema are Don Kipansa and Soncho Hote (director H. Bor, 1921), Bird without a Nest (director K. Carola, 1922), Light and Shadow (director H. Delano, 1925 )

The former theater actor Pedro Sienna successfully proved himself as the director of silent films ^[3] . Sienna was the director of the movie “Scream at Sea” (1924), as well as the script writer and director of the first Chilean feature film that has survived to this day - “Hussar of Death” . The premiere of Hussar of Death took place in Santiago on November 24, 1925, the film is dedicated to the life and work of Manuel Rodriguez . In 1962, this film was restored in the film archive of the University of Chile , with the musical soundtrack of the famous Chilean composer Sergio Ortega . At the 2005 London Film Festival , Hussar of Death was featured in the Treasures from the Archive program. According to Carolina Robino, a film critic from the BBC Mundo, this is “an extremely rich tape of her time. Visual images are extremely rich. Sienna masterfully plays with time shifts, subjective character positions and her own thoughts. Without a word, he tells an epic story with exquisite touches of humor, giving an accurate description of the Chilean colonial society. ” ^[4]

The last silent film released in Chile is “Extended Patrol” ( Spanish: Patrullas de Avanzada ) directed by Eric Pache (1931) ^[3] . A total of 78 films were released between 1910 and 1931 in Chile. In 1934, the first sound film “North and South” was directed by Delano, which starred theatrical actor A. Flores and singer H. Sur.

Cinema of the 1940s - 1950s

In 1942, in order to support national cinema, the Government of Chile established the Production Development Corporation ( Spanish Corporación de Fomento de la Producción , CORFO), as well as the Chile Films State Film Studio, which provided Chilean filmmakers with technical resources. Despite this, Chilean cinema continued to experience financial difficulties, and the national film distribution was almost completely occupied by films produced in the USA ^[3] . Among the few Chilean films of the 1940s, film critics usually mention the films “The Bitter Truth” (director K. Borkoske, 1945), “The Man Who Was taken away” (director H. Delano, 1946), “Love That Passes” (director H. Bor , 1947), “Damned Step” (director F. Matter, 1949).

The crisis in Chilean cinema continued in the 1950s, during the period 1951-1961, only 13 films were produced in the country, 5 of which were staged by foreign directors. By the end of the 1950s, two films by Naum Kramarenko appeared, testifying to the arrival of the “new wave” in Chilean cinema: “Three Views of the Street” ( Spanish Tres miradas a la calle ), 1957) and “Let the Dogs Bark” ( Spanish Deja que los perros ladren , 1961) ^[3] .

New Chilean Movie

The 1960s are characterized by the advent of the New Chilean Cinema era ( Spanish: Nuevo Cine Chileno ). Back in 1957, the Experimental Cinema Center was established at the University of Chile in Santiago, along with the Institute of Cinema at the Catholic University of Chile ^[5] . During this period, a number of young directors appeared, such as Raul Ruiz , Patricio Guzman , Aldo Francia and Miguel Littin , and socio-political issues were widely screened ^[3] .

The 1964 documentary Flags of the People, directed by S. Bravo, was banned by censorship for political reasons. The films of N. Kramarenko “Return to Silence” (1966), A. Kovasevich's “Die-a little” (1967), Elvio Soto “Once upon a time there were a boy, partisans and a horse” (1967), P. Cowlen “A Long Journey” "(1967), R. Ruiz" Three Sad Tigers "(1968), M. Littin," The Jackal of Naueltoro "(1970), A. Francis" Valparaiso, My Love "(1969) ^[3] . In 1967, the first ever New Latin American Film Festival ( Spanish Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano ) was held in Viña del Mar.

A broad appeal to socio-political issues in the 1960s was characteristic not only of Chilean cinema, but also of cinema in other Latin American countries. Similar trends were observed in other areas of art in Chile, as, for example, in music - Nueva canción . As film critics on the MemoriaChilena website note, “the movement of left-wing Chilean filmmakers cannot be understood outside the context of the emerging social and political identity of the Latin American continent” ^[6] .

After the government of People’s Unity came to power in 1970, the Chile-Films film studio was nationalized , which appealed to all cinematographers in the country to centralize film production, and in 1972-1973 cinemas were nationalized. The powers in the field of filmmaking and film distribution were divided: Chile-films was engaged in production, and Continental-films was engaged in rental. Since the end of 1972, the country began operating a network of 16-mm film distribution, as well as numerous film transfers , thanks to which films from other Latin American countries, as well as socialist camps, reached the inhabitants of the Chilean periphery. Over the 3 years (1970-1973), 12 feature films, 4 feature films, and about 150 short films were shot in the country. Popular in the country were such films as “The End of the Game” by L. Cornejo, “Operation Alpha” by E. Ortega, “One Prayer Is Not Enough” by A. Francia, “The Promised Land” and the documentary “Comrade President” (both M . Littina) ^[6] . Along with feature films of socio-political issues, a number of documentaries were shot about the activities of the Government of People’s Unity, such as P. Guzman’s “First Year”.

Chilean cinema after the 1973 coup

The 1973 military coup dramatically changed the situation in Chilean cinema. The junta, led by A. Pinochet, destroyed most of the country's cinematic heritage. Chile-films and national television film archives were burned, Chile-films president E. Paredes was killed, many company employees were thrown into prisons and concentration camps, 110 filmmakers went missing. The protectionist policy on national cinema was curtailed, and by the end of 1975, Chilean film distribution was again predominantly American films. A special decree of the junta organized the publication of the newsreel "News", whose task was to propagate the achievements of the ruling regime. Many Chilean filmmakers emigrated from the country, in connection with which the production of their own films in the country fell almost to zero.

Chilean Emigration Cinema

Many Chilean filmmakers who emigrated from the country continued to work abroad - in Mexico , Nicaragua , Sweden , as well as in the countries of the socialist camps - the USSR , Bulgaria , East Germany , and Cuba . In Chile, a Chilean cinematheque was also kept (director - P. Chaskell ). A number of films launched in Chile were completed by directors in exile - films such as the documentary film trilogy “ The Battle for Chile ” by P. Guzman (the 1st, 2nd and 3rd parts were released, respectively, in 1975, 1976 and 1979 years), “History” ( S. and P. Castilla), “Criminal Prison” (R. Ruiz), “Fists against guns” (G. Anselovichi, O. Lubbert), “Our history, and the peoples make it” ( A. Ramirez).

Along with this, Chilean filmmakers in exile made a number of new films, including the feature films “ Night over Chile ” (1977, directors - S. Alarcon , A. Kosarev ), “ Santa Esperanza ” (1980, S. Alarcon) and The Fall of Condor (1982, S. Alarcon), the documentary Chilean Chronicle (1975, directed by Labarca), Events at the Marusia Mine (1975, M. Littin, Mexico), Sweet Home (1975, B. Gonzalez, GDR), “I would like to have a son” (1973, S. Castilla, Sweden), “Disappeared Prisoners” (1979, S. Castilla, Cuba), “ It is raining in Santiago ” (1975, Elvio Soto , France - olgariya), "eyes like my dad" (1979, P. Chaskel , Cuba), "Alsina and the Condor" (1982, M. Littin, Nicaragua).

Chilean Films of the 1990s and 2000s

After A. Pinochet left power and the restoration of a democratic form of government, Chilean cinema began to revive from the beginning of the 1990s. In 1992, the Fondart National Art Foundation was created, with the support of which about 90% of Chilean feature films are produced. Many films released in the late 1980s and early 1990s were met with criticism from both filmmakers and viewers - for example, “Johnny One Hundred Pesos” (Gustavo Graf-Marino, 1993), “History of Football” ( 1997, the debut film of Andres Wood ) and “Gringito” ( Sergio Castilla , 1998) ^[3] .

In 1999, box office records in Chile were broken by Kristan Galas’s film “Sentimental Joker” ( Spanish El Chacotero Sentimental ), films “Black Angel” ( Spanish .ngel Negro , 2000, directed by Jorge Olgin) and Ogu and Mampato also enjoyed great success . on Easter Island ”( Spanish: Ogú y Mampato en Rapa Nui , 2002, director Alexander Rojas). In 2003, the comedy “Sex with Love” ( Spanish: Sexo con Amor ) by Boris Kersia set a new national box office record, which remained unsurpassed until 2012. Chilean films also began to win awards at international film festivals. Silvio Kaiossi's 2000 film Coronation won prizes at the Montreal , Huelva, Cartagena and Havana Film Festivals ; Andres Wood's film “Madman's Fever” ( Spanish: La Fiebre del Loco , 2001) won prizes in Cartagena and Lleida; the film Taxi for Three (2001 : Taxi Para Tres , directed by Orlando Lubbert) won prizes at film festivals in Cartagena, Havana, Mar del Plata , Miami and San Sebastian ^[3] .

In recent years, Chilean films have successfully participated in international film festivals around the world.

Sebastian Silva's 2009 film “The Maid” He was awarded two awards: at the Sundance Independent Film Festival in 2009 and Golden Globe for the best foreign film in 2010. In 2010, Patricio Guzman’s documentary film “Nostalgia for the World” ( Spanish: Nostalgia de la luz ) made his debut as part of the Cannes Film Festival official program and was also shown at the Toronto Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Miami International Film Festival and the International Film Festival in Melbourne . In 2012, the films “ Violeta went to heaven ” by Andres Wood and “ Wild Pussy ” by Mariali Rivas received awards from the “ Sundance ” festival ^[7] .

In 2013, the Chilean film "No" directed by Pablo Larraina for the first time in the history of Chilean cinema was included in the list of Oscar nominees in the nomination "Best Foreign Language Film" ^[8] .

Chile Film Festivals

• Chilean Documentary Film Festival ( Spanish: Festival de Cine Documental de Chiloé )
• Lebu International Film Festival ( Spanish: Festival Internacional de Cine de Lebu )
• International Film Festival in Valdivia ( Spanish: Festival Internacional de Cine de Valdivia )
• International Film Festival in Viña del Mar ( Spanish Festival Internacional de Cine de Viña del Mar )
• Valparaiso International Film Festival ( Spanish Festival Internacional de Cine de Valparaíso )
• Santiago International Film Festival ( Spanish: Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine ).

• El cine chileno en sus libros. Breve panorama histórico (Spanish)
• Cinemateca virtual de Chile (Spanish)
• Maria Films (Spanish)
• Roos Film (Spanish)
• Sobras (Spanish)
• Risas & Risas (Spanish)