Following a successful Sunny Side of the Doc, Sheffield Doc/Fest’s 29th edition will also feature a considerable Chilean presence.
Breaking the Brick (dir. Carola Fuentes and Rafael Valdeavellano) will screen its World Premiere as part of the festival’s Rebellions section. Conceived as a sequel to Chicago Boys (2015), directed and produced by the same team, the documentary portrays the process lived in Chile in 2019 when millions of Chileans rose to defy economic theories imposed during the dictatorship. Additionally, the Guadalajara’s International Film Festival awarded Alis (dir. Nicolás van Hemelryck and Clare Weiskopf; prod. Lise Lense, Alexandra Galvis, and Radu Stancu) will screen as part of the People & Community section, as well as the Youth Jury Prize. Alis shows how a group of female teenagers that lived in Bogotá’s unsparing streets can project their destinies, breaking off from the violence, even when they were born with no opportunities.
Aside from the official screenings, a Chilean delegation composed of national filmmakers and their developing projects will also be part of this important encounter. On the delegation, Chiledoc director Paula Ossandón states, «four Chilean producers will be arriving at Sheffield Doc/Fest looking for new network and business opportunities. At places like this is where the Chilean documentary community becomes stronger and grows internationally». The films are:
Alida, yeridá (dir. Rafael Guendelman; prod. Joaquín Echeverría), where the author investigates, starting from family records, his family’s motivation to emigrate to Israel in the ’70s, as well as the disappointments that motivated their return to Chile, decades later.
Corrupted (dir. Juan Cifuentes Mera; prod. Joaquín Tapia Ross, Rodrigo Díaz, and Margarita Egaña), telling how Andrea tries to rebuild her past in search of her former self after losing her memory because of electroshock therapy.
The Snowy Winter in the South (dir. Sebastián Vidal Campos; prod. Sebastián Lavados), about a handful of residents inhabiting south of the territory with a cruel and overwhelming nature, where men, women, and children, their packs and cattle, endure loneliness, cold, and the snow threatening to cover everything.
A Journey to the Roots (dir. José Manuel Loyola; prod. Carola Fuentes and Rafael Valdeavellano), tells the story of Adán, who returns to his territory to reconvert its community to the Mapuche spirituality and traditions.
Chile Estyle (dir/prod, Pablo Aravena) portrays the political muralism phenomenon in Chile.