Patricio Guzmán

Patricio Guzmán (Director/Co-cinematographer) was born in 1941 in Santiago, Chile. As an adolescent, he was inspired by the documentary films of Chris Marker, Frédéric Rossif and Louis Malle. He studied at the Film Institute of the Catholic University of Chile and at the Official School of Film in Madrid, where he obtained his degree in 1970. Guzmán returned to Chile in 1971 and directed his first documentary, The First Year, which covered the first 12 months of Salvador Allende’s government. Chris Marker, who was passing through Chile at the time, saw the film and assisted in having it screened in France. Two years later, Marker again provided invaluable assistance when he donated the raw stock needed to begin filming The Battle of Chile, Guzmán’s four-hour documentary trilogy chronicling Allende’s final year. Filming lasted until the very day of the coup d’état on Sept. 11, 1973, when Guzmán and thousands of others were imprisoned in Chile’s National Stadium. After gaining his freedom, Guzmán left for Europe. The Battle of Chile (1975-1979) won six grand prizes in Europe and Latin America and was shown in theaters in 35 countries. Among his acclaimed films are In God’s Name (1987), The Southern Cross (1992), Town in Stasis (1995), Chile, Obstinate Memory (1997), Robinson Crusoe Island (1999), The Pinochet Case (2001) or Madrid (2002). In 2006, Guzmán made the award winning film  Salvador Allende (2006), about the Chilean president’s life. Guzmán currently chairs FIDOCS, the international documentary film festival in Santiago, Chile, that he founded in 1997.

Last update: 13th November 2020