The film tetralogy “The 4 universals of Chile” exhibits the Chilean filmmaker Luis Vera at the Matta Cultural Center (CCMATTA) in Buenos Aires, within the framework of the exhibition “Poetry in expansion”.
The director will have the opportunity to present the documentaries personally, thanks to the support of the Division of Cultures, Arts, Heritage and Public Diplomacy (DIRAC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile.
“Viola Chilensis” (2003), “Neruda, el hombre y su obra” (2004), “Gabriela de Elqui, Mistral del mundo” (2006) and “Allende, de Valparaíso al mundo” (2007) are the titles of these documentaries that will be shown between June 21 and 24, all of them at 17:00 Argentine time.
Tribute
“The idea of making a tribute in cinema to the four figures of Chile who represent the noblest creative, spiritual, social and humanist values of Chile in the world, arises since in my forced exile after the coup of 73 and that led me from a very young age to live in different countries with different cultures where I always met peoples who valued and had as a reference the best of Chile”, points out Luis Vera, who adds that all his films have something autobiographical or symbolize experiences turned into stories to tell about facts or characters that involve, represent, interpret or question him.
Vera completed this project between 2002 and 2008 in order to disseminate the life, work and validity of the main cultural references of our country Violeta Parra, Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral. The fourth work of this heritage collection reveals the intense, unknown and particular relationship that President Salvador Allende had with Valparaíso since his childhood.
The documentaries show archives of the protagonists and testimonies of family, friends, friends and characters of their time. Among the personalities who provide background on the heroes are Doris Dana, Silvio Rodríguez, the writer Isabel Allende, members of the Parra family, Volodia Teitelboim, Susana Rinaldi, Mercedes Sosa, José Miguel Varas, among others.
Exile
In 1974 Vera, who currently lives in Paraguay, settled in Peru and, that same year, moved to Romania. In Bucharest he obtained the title of film and TV director and, in 1975, he filmed his first short film “I sell you choose” about the farmers’ markets in Romanian cities. In 1981 he moved to Sweden, where he filmed some documentaries among them, “In a place … not far away.”
“Vera belongs to a generation of Chilean filmmakers who were marked by tremendous political changes of a time when Latin America sought and investigated its difference in the Western context. The cinema of the Chilean exile saw the birth of a whole generation of authors who were maturing their work from their own experiences that crossed the exile, with the evident personal and social transformations that they themselves experienced, “says Mauricio Álamo, in charge of the Cinema and Audiovisual area of THE DIRAC.
Luis Vera returned to Chile in 1984 to make his first fiction feature film, “Hechos Consumados”, based on the play by Juan Radrigán, emblematic Chilean playwright of the theater in dictatorship that nourishes his writing with the poetics of the marginalized.
It should be noted that the film tetralogy “The 4 universals of Chile” will be carried out thanks to the support of the Embassy of Chile in Argentina, Pro Chile and DIRAC.
Gabriela de Elqui, Mistral del mundo (2006).
Synopsis: The validity of the work and thought of Gabriela Mistral. Tour of Chile and various countries of the world where he sowed his love, his poetry, his teachings. The most important people still alive who had a close relationship with her, such as the American Doris Dana, deliver for the first time their testimonies and experiences about this, for many, illustrious unknown.
Viola Chilensis: Violeta Parra vida y obra (2003).
Synopsis: Documentary directed by Luis R. Vera about the figure of the famous folklorist and national creator. Along with abundant archival material from Violeta Parra herself, family, friends and colleagues appear giving their vision of this complex character.
Neruda, the man and his work (2004).
Synopsis: This documentary series covers the most relevant aspects of the life and work of one of the main cultural references of Chile, the poet and Nobel Prize for Literature, Pablo Neruda. The series divided into 10 themes tells us the fundamental experiences of Neruda as a man, artista, citizen, lover or social fighter.
Allende, from Valparaiso to the world (2008).
Synopsis: Documentary about the ties that united the late president of Chile with Valparaíso, the port city where he lived for many years and where many of his friends and colleagues still remain.
Follow us on
