Three works from Chile are presented at Sheffield DocFest 2024. Relentless Memory, directed by Paula Rodríguez and produced by Paola Castillo and Gema Juárez Allen, will have its world premiere as an official selection in International competition. Piropolis (European premiere), directed by Nicolas Molina and produced by Joséphine Schroeder and Francisca Barraza, is selected for the People & Community section.
Meanwhile in MeetMarket, A Troop of Bears, a project directed by Christián Martínez, Paola Castillo, and Pachi Bustos, and produced by Paola Castillo and Alejandra Díaz, is selected. Additionally, more than a dozen producers will be part of the Chilean delegation present in Sheffield Industry
“Chilean documentary arrives at Sheffield DocFest and its significant market with brave stories that are artistically solid and showcase the thematic diversity that characterizes us as a sector,” comments Diego Pino Anguita, Deputy Director of Chiledoc, which promotes Chilean documentary cinema worldwide. “Over the past eight years, Chiledoc has focused on strengthening its relationship with this festival, mainly because its quest revolves around daring films with surprising perspectives that enrich its programming. The Chilean presence, through the two selected films and the project in the market, as well as the works in progress carried by the producers of the delegation, precisely reflects a variety of perspectives and, at the same time, the risk-taking in storytelling, which resonates strongly with the audience in Sheffield and the international industry.”
The Chilean/Argentinian co-pro Relentless Memory (International Comp), directed by Paula Rodríguez followsMargarita, a Mapuche activist and researcher, who is determined to unearth the silenced history of her ancestors. She embarks on a profound journey guided by the diary of Katrulaf, a Mapuche Indigenous warrior as she retraces the deportation route of the Mapuche people. “By uncovering this past, she gives voice to the displaced people and the genocide inflicted upon them during the military invasions that founded Argentina and Chile,” writes Chiledoc.
The feature doc Piropolis (People & Community) is told through the eyes of the Pompe France fire brigade, a company with diplomatic ties to France. The film presents Valparaíso as a threatened city. The captain and his crew welcome Baptista, a French firefighter who has arrived to provide training on fires caused by the eucalyptus forests surrounding the city. However, amidst the escalating social and political crisis of the 2019 uprising, the brigade finds itself confronting violent protests. They must also come to terms with the inclusion of women in their traditionally male-dominated environment.
The MeetMarket project A Troop of Bears is included tells the story of the encounter between the son of a disappeared detainee and the man who betrayed him during the Chilean military dictatorship. “The film explores the traces of forced disappearance, betrayal, silence, and guilt, proposing new images to dream about what could have been,” says Chiledoc.
Chilean filmmakers and producers will also participate at Sheffield Industry with their projects in development. The Chilean delegation includes Pablo Aravena, Pablo Navarrete, Paola Castillo, Josephine Schroeder, Pachi Bustos, Miguel Kopp, Christian Martínez, Paula Rodriguez, Nicolás Molina and the group of four producers selected by the Council for the Arts and Audiovisual Industry (CAIA): Carola Fuentes from La Ventana Cine; Joaquin Echeverria from Brisa Films; Florencia Dupont from Santiago Independiente and Fernando Fuentes from El Espino Films.
Diego Pino Anguita will also participate in this edition of Sheffield DocFest as a jury member for the International First Feature Competition.
