A panorama of the documentary films at 50 years since the 1973 coup d’etat: dictatorship, trauma and collective memory in Chile

Abstract

at 50 years from the coup d’etat that started the period of civilian-military dictatorship in Chile (1973-1990), this article proposes a panoramic look at the trajectory of the Chilean documentary films since 1973 until now. Through cursory inspection of a diverse series of films, the article seeks to show by virtue of a synthetic approach that Chilean documentaries, with all their material, aesthetic and narrative differences, have consistently and incessantly rehearsed diverse modes of representation, investigation and narration to confront this nation’s historical disaster. Thus, contributing to legal, forensic and public memory processes, while interrogating the problematic relationships among national history, collective memory, and the dictatorship’s traumatic, neoliberal and authoritarian legacy in Chilean society. For this purpose, the article analyzes how these films, during and after the dictatorship, have deployed a cinematic memory as a formal and narrative device to work-through the testimonies of witnesses of atrocity and damage caused by the State, emphasising the resilience and creativity of individuals, families, and communities.