My Imaginary Country

In October 2019, 1.5 million people took to the streets of Chile’s capital. Initially in response to a rise in public-transport fares, the protests quickly became about much more, encompassing issues relating to the cost of living, a subpar health system and insufficient rights for women, students and pensioners. Still emerging from decades of dictatorial rule, Chile’s citizens were awakened to the fact that they were owed their due. For the Chilean master Patricio Guzmán, who showed the 1973 coup against Salvador Allende in his The Battle of Chile series, these events signaled that his country “had recovered its memory”. Underneath the gas masks and the scenes of fear, aggression and protest, he finds the indelible potential for hope. As Chile faces a new and exciting future, Guzmán is there to show us how it was bravely fought for.