Reconstructing Private Memory of Dictatorship in Chilean Contemporary Documentaries: An Intimate View of History in the First Person

Abstract

Since military putsch of September 1973, Chilean cinema has had an important role on preservation of memory about dictatorship. It has counteract-from alternative circuits-the silence of mass media. Some of foundational films of these period were documentary trilogy The Battle of Chile (1975, 1976, 1979) and feature movie It rains over Santiago (1975) from Helvio Soto, finished in exile. These films told the big history and had a political engagement. Today there is a new generation of young directors that deals with memory through an autobiographical point of view: Mi life with Carlos (2009) by German Berger; The Chilean building (2010) by Macarena Aguilo and The echo of songs (2010) by Antonia Rossi belong to this style of intimate representation. Family memories in super 8, 16 mm, video, as well as photographs, children drawings and letters are part of materials that compose those narrations told in first person. They are a sort of identity reconstruction pocess of filmmakers that were young and indirect victimes of political system.