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Chilean Cinematic Identity

In Chilean cinema, often the most common subject matter is the country’s own history and national identity. Writers tend to create stories that involve insight into past events and social revision, while also dealing with politics. This comes from the popularity of the documentary film within the country. Characters in Chile can often be fictitious people that experience real life historical events. It seems that main characters tend get involved with social and political issues, or at the very least witness them unfold. This, along with the popularity of historical stories, can be attributed to the social and political strife the country has experienced in the past, and the lasting effects it has had on the Chilean consciousness.

 

In terms of filmmaking technique and cinematography, Chile takes a lot of influence from North American filmmaking. For instance, the close up shot is something very popular among Chilean directors, who often use it as a way of reflecting social turmoil and trauma on the face of their characters. In this sense, the close up is almost a way of responding to the power struggles that the country has experienced. Another North American influence on camera technique is handheld shots, which are especially popular amongst younger Chilean filmmakers. These types of shots could be popular because of their similarity to documentary style, as well as their efficiency. For production design, most Chilean movies are set in the past during a time when a major political or historical event occured. These films are almost always set within Chile, usually with more urban locations. Character design is often determined by a sense of the class system, and what sort of social background each character has. Class and social situations can also determine set design, depending on the location.

Looking to more recently, Chilean cinema has been growing rapidly. Now with government funding, Chile produces around 20 movies per year, with a strong group of young filmmakers at the helm. These filmmakers, dubbing themselves “Chilewood”, make genre films that they want to see and that they want to show the whole world. They say that they are inspired by Woody Allen’s filmmaking style, where they each try to finish movies as fast and efficiently as possible before immediately starting work on the next one. They have also adopted a policy of shooting low budget but making sure that the films don’t look it. They do this by using expensive cameras, sometimes even shooting in 4K resolution to give their films a high budget feel. More and more Chile is showing its films in international festivals, gaining popularity and influence worldwide. As the country’s industry continues to develop, so does its own unique filmmaking style.

References

Chilean film chronology. (2015). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from             

              https://mubi.com/lists/chilean-film-chronology

 

Filmmaking in Chile. (2009, November 3). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from

             http://www.thisischile.cl/filmmaking-in-chile/?lang=en 

 

Fragoso, S. (2015, June 12). How a movement in chile is transforming film worldwide. Retrieved December 4, 2015, from

             http://www.wired.com/2015/06/chilewood-primer-the-stranger/

 

Harvey-Davitt, J., Wright, S., & Jung, B. (2014). Panel: Aesthetic Tendencies of New Chilean Cinema. Retrieved December 4, 2015,

             from

             http://www.film-philosophy.com/conference/index.php/conf/F-P2014/paper/view/750 

 

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