“The path is open,” reads a mural in 'Venceremos' (1971), by Héctor Ríos and Pedro Chaskel, one of the works we can see again in 'Camino a FIDOCS 30'. Inscribed on a brick wall, the phrase encapsulated the revolutionary hope of an era marked by the dream of building different futures. Today, more than fifty years later, those words resonate in the present.

The path is open: a path forged by filmmakers of different generations, whose works have shaped the identity of FIDOCS, and by all those who, throughout its 29 editions, have made this festival a fundamental space for documentary filmmaking in Chile and the region. At its origin is Patricio Guzmán, the Festival's founder, whose vision provided the initial impetus in a context where exhibition circuits for non-fiction cinema were nonexistent. From its inception, FIDOCS was conceived as a meeting point centered around the country's cinematic heritage, a breeding ground for new generations of filmmakers, and a way to access the broadest map of world cinema. To him and to all those who have sustained the Festival with their films, their perspectives, and their work, we owe the continuation of this journey.

‘'Road to FIDOCS 30' looks back, takes flight, and propels itself forward. With this gesture, we revisit some of the paths that have shaped our history. During October, the month before the Festival, we will make four stops at our main venues. Each stop represents a milestone that has marked the history of the event, activating the projectors as a prelude to the thirtieth edition.

The first stop comprises three days of film and memory at the National Film Archive of Chile. It all begins with 'The First Year,' Patricio Guzmán's debut feature film. The film that launched his filmography also paves the way for the thirtieth edition of the Festival. Starting with the cinematic beginnings of its founder is to return to the start of both journeys and acknowledge the conviction that unites us: a way of seeing cinema as memory, encounter, and education.

During the second and third days we return to the 'Retrospective of Chilean Documentary Cinema', which was programmed in the first two editions of the Festival, in 1997 and 1998. This 'Retrospective of the Retrospective' recovers works by fundamental filmmakers such as Héctor Ríos, Pedro Chaskel, Carlos Flores, Carmen Castillo and Ignacio Agüero, many of which had had little circulation until then.

At our next stop, the Sala Cine Centro de Extensión UC, we move into another dimension of the Festival. Since its inception, cultural institutions and embassies have been key allies of FIDOCS in bringing the most relevant works and figures of international documentary filmmaking closer to audiences, expanding the festival's programming and fostering connections between different film industries, eras, and audiences. As part of this shared history, at this second stop we explore the works of Chris Marker (France) and Werner Herzog (Germany), two filmmakers fundamental to the festival's identity and trajectory.

En la próxima estación, Sala K / U. Mayor, recordamos los comienzos de una generación de cineastas cuyas primeras obras encontraron un espacio en el Festival. José Luis Torres Leiva, Tiziana Panizza, María Paz González, Marialy Rivas, Paola Castillo y José Luis Sepúlveda son algunos de los nombres que forman parte de esta historia.

And finally, this journey leading up to the thirtieth edition arrives at Centro Arte Alameda with the continuation of the tribute to FIDOCS founder Patricio Guzmán. In this final leg, we revisit 'Chile, la memoria obstinada' (Chile, the Stubborn Memory), which premiered at the Festival's first edition. A film that, like this journey, returns to the past to question the present and that, almost thirty years later, reminds us that there are still wounds to heal and paths to explore.