La Ciudad de Fotografos

Two weekends ago I made it to the outdoor documental film festival held in front of the museum of contemporary art in the barrio Bellas Artes. The documentaries were a collection of some historic reels -an interview with both Fidel Castro and Salavador Allende- and more contemporary titles as well.

The night finished with La Ciudad de Fotografos, a documentary by Sebastian Moreno about a group of photographers that documented public protests under the military regime. The film is told through the eyes of Moreno, whose whole recollection of the military government is based largely in the photographs taken by his father, one of photographers featured in the film.

These weren’t the foreign journalists working with Reuters or the AP, but rather Chileans who felt these events had to be captured on film and formed their own independent group to do so.

The film combined interviews with several of the photographers, the actual photos they had taken at the time and video that had been shot of them taking the photos during the protests.This was dangerous work, the military didn’t want these photos to get out. They had little options for publishing them due to government censorship. at times they would just hang them from their neck and walk through the center to get people’s attention. They were exposed to danger and the risk of detention at a time when people were going missing and being tortured.

While the documentary is about the photographers, it is also about those times that they lived and all the nuances of covering these public protests. It is also a tribute to how powerful photography is in shaping people’s perceptions. In one scene they show a magazine that is to be published, but all of their photos have been censured, every single one.

I highly recommend the film (not sure where you can find it though sorry, but the trailer can be watched here) to anyone who is a fan of photographer or interested in Chile's recent history.