“Chile is a land of storytellers. [They] seem to compel us to connect with the rest of the world through narratives, stories and cinema” says executive director of Cinema Chile, Costanza Arena. Chile currently produces roughly 20 film a year covering topics and genres such as national history, social revision, comedy, drama and child animation.
Chile writes what it knows, and writes it well. The stories that come from Chile are from the people who have lived through them, we follow plenty of revolutionists and stories covering the lives of people entangled in it. Chilean writers, often playwrights of the theatre drawn to the film industry, manage to emerge their audiences into their films and appeal to their core human emotions. Their characters often start at the bottom, however, unlike Hollywood archetypes they do not always make it to the top. Through developing their characters and giving their audiences a deeper look into the everyday struggles to survive of ordinary people Chilean film “…know how to render local stories universal…” (Vincent Canales, Film Factory ent’s) and are currently doing well at various international festivals.
The Chile film industry is still getting their feet under them while looking abroad for a wider market. This leads to a variety in co-productions and a diverse group on set. The content of their films are also diverse, ranging from the 1860s to present day and covering people of all walks of life. Some excellent representation comes forth in movies like Una Mujer Fantástica, which tells the story of a transgender woman working as a waitress and lounge singer. Or The Grown-ups, a story that follows the lives of a group of friends in their 50s with down syndrome. Chile does not only vary the type of story they tell but also who they tell it about. This opens them up and gives them the ability to reach out to people that are often overlooked in favour of CIS or ableist audiences.
Chile’s landscape is almost as diverse at its people. Starting in the cities, Santiago is a beautiful place filled with a wonderful mix of European and American architecture, setting up a unique bustling city setting. Valparaíso is a different kind of bustling city, its magnificent coastal views, architectural diversity and striking street art are what makes it stand out. The Chiloé island is another kind of hotspot to film in, its capital city, Castro, comes with its own insane architecture, ‘Palafitos’ which are houses on the water stood up on sticks. They are painted vivid colours and set against a backdrop of rainforest, one of the many captivating things about this island. The Atacama Desert has everything you could ever want from a desert. Sand dunes, salt flats, geysers, white sandy beaches and high altitude lakes making it a beautiful stop to film. The Pucon Zone and the Aysen Zone are both unique in their own way. Pucon zone holds everything from lakes, rivers, rolling green meadows, to looming volcanoes making it the number one tourist destination. In contrast, the Aysen Zone is uninhabited by man, there you will find forests, lakes, mountains and glaciers untouched by the mechanical hand of man.
Sources: https://lbbonline.com/news/8-production-locations-from-chiles-staggeringly-diverse-landscape/
https://learnchile.cl/en/film-industry-in-chile-a-rising-platform/
Chilean Cinema Punches Above Its Weight
https://www.thisischile.cl/filmmaking-in-chile/?lang=en
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6618178/?ref_=ttls_li_tt
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5639354/?ref_=ttls_li_tt
Chilean Cinema 