THE PEARL BUTTON
El botón de nácar
Chile, 2015
Spanish with English subtitles/ 82′
Director/Writer: Patricio Guzmán
Tuesday, Aug-30
5:30 PM | The Cinematheque
The ocean contains the history of all humanity. The sea holds the voices of the Earth and those that come from outer space. Water receives impetus from the stars and transmits it to living creatures. Water, the longest border in Chile, also holds the secret of a mysterious button that was discovered in its seabed. Chile, with its 2,670 miles of coastline, the largest archipelago in the world, presents a supernatural landscape. In it are volcanoes, mountains and glaciers. In it are the voices of the Patagonian Indigenous people, of the first English sailors and also those of its political prisoners. Some say that water has memory. This film shows that it also has a voice.
‘‘Patricio Guzmán’s study of the political killings of the 1970s, as well as the country’s history of violence, enhances his reputation as one of the great documentarians in history.” Andrew Pulver, The Guardian.
El océano contiene la historia de la humanidad. El mar conserva las voces de la Tierra y de aquellos que vienen del espacio exterior. El agua recibe el ímpetu de las estrellas y lo transmite. El agua, la gran frontera de Chile, también guarda el secreto de un misterioso botón que fue descubierto en el seno del mar. Chile, con sus 2.670 millas de costa, el archipiélago más grande del mundo, nos presenta un paisaje sobrenatural. Hay en él volcanes, montañas y glaciares. Están en él las voces de los indígenas patagones, de los primeros marinos ingleses y también de los presos políticos. Dicen que el agua tiene memoria. Esta película nos demuestra que también tiene voz.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Producer: Renate Sachse
Cinematographer: Katell Djian
Editor: Emmanuelle Joly
Music: Miranda & Tobar, Hugues Maréchal
Patricio Guzmán (Santiago, Chile, 1941) is a legend of documentary filmmaking, best known for The Battle of Chile Trilogy (1975-1979), The Pinochet Case (2001), Salvador Allende (2004) and Nostalgia for the Light (2010). With the latter he received the European Film Academy Grand Prix in 2010. The Pearl Button received the 2015 award for Best Screenplay at Berlin, a rare honour for a documentary film.
With the support of:
Community partner:
