My Imaginary Country
This documentary explores the protests that exploded onto the streets of Chile’s capital of Santiago in 2019 as the population demanded more democracy and social equality around education, healthcare and job opportunities.
- Released: 2022-05-20
- Runtime: 83 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries
- Stars:
- Director: Patricio Guzmán
Comments
- Blue-Grotto - 6 October 2022
There are flames that consume, and there are those that nourish.
Mass demonstrations recently set Santiago and Chile on fire in a "marvelous chaos." A different kind of country is emerging from the ashes.
For over thirty years since the last dictatorship in Chile, conservative men retained their grip on power. They did not represent the country. What began as a protest over mass transit in Santiago grew into a broader movement for dignity, housing, pensions, health care, paid tuition, and equality for women. A violent repression followed. In the face of oppression what remains standing is hope, resilience, and marichiweu (a word of the Mapuche people that stands for "always the people will win." The changes to Chile's constitution are coming along with a new and long imagined future of true equality. It is the beginning of life rather than mere survival for the Chilean people.
The most outstanding and mesmerizing documentary films I've ever seen, Nostalgia for the Light and The Pearl Button, are from veteran documentary filmmaker Patricio Guzman. First off, if you did not see either film, stop what you are doing right now and stream them on the nearest electronic device! These compelling and heartrending stories, the knowledge of Chilean affairs that they convey, and the beautiful cinematography from start to finish, will leave you spellbound and dazzled. While My Imaginary Country is not at the level of Guzman's previous films, it is still high quality coming from him. Guzman was filming during the 1973 coup against Salvador Allende and just gained in documentary filmmaking prowess since that time. My Imaginary Country combines interviews and commentary from his fellow activists as well as his own takes on the incendiary events that began in 2019 in Santiago. It first appeared at Cannes.
