Chilean film history takes an interesting turn starting in the 50s. Several film groups were established including Grupo Cine Experimental (Experimental Cinema Group), and filmmakers began to create documentary style films.  This style of filmmaking has said to be inspired by the Italian Neorealist movement as films represented society socially, and kept important Chilean history and cultures in mind. This was important as Chile took on a military ruling in the 60s, and films turned very political. However, classic Chilean films did continue to be made outside of the country. In the late 60s, films directed by Aldo Francia, Helvio Soto and Raúl Ruiz redefined Chilean cinema. This time period became known as the “New Chilean Cinema” era, and film made a comeback with this new identity. For example, the film The Border by Ricardo Larrain was a great success that even hit theatres in other countries in 1991. Foreign films became a big competitor of course, however Chilean cinema continued to break box office records.

 

     Today, Chilean films are still continuing to appear world wide. For example, Machuca, directed by Andres Wood in 2004, became very famous. La Nana (The Maid), directed by Sebastian Silva in 2009, also won many awards at international film festivals. More recently, the film The 33 (directed by Patricia Riggen) is a Chilean film that is being released in North America this year. With the strong background behind them, it is expected that Chile will continue to be present in the future film industry.