All screenings at 'Camino a FIDOCS 30' are free. For screenings at the Cineteca Nacional de Chile, you must reserve your ticket online; the link is available here.
In 1997, in a Chile still trapped in a perpetual transition, Patricio Guzmán founded FIDOCS. Under the name 'First International Documentary Film Festival in Chile', its first edition was held at the Goethe-Institut, as its sole venue.
Among the activities of that inaugural edition, the 'First Retrospective of Chilean Documentary Cinema' stood out, a selection that recovered fundamental works by filmmakers such as Sergio Bravo, Héctor Ríos, Carlos Flores, and Ignacio Agüero. The following year, a second retrospective was programmed, expanding the historical scope and incorporating new films and filmmakers. Both exhibitions constituted one of the first systematic efforts to rescue, exhibit, and foster dialogue about a fundamental part of Chile's audiovisual heritage.
As part of the celebration of FIDOCS' thirtieth edition, we revisit this foundational retrospective, revisiting some of the films that helped define the Festival's identity and allowed us to rediscover a documentary tradition as diverse as it is essential. More than a re-release, this program functions as a 'Retrospective of the Retrospective': works that bring together different eras—the time of their creation, that of the first retrospective, and the present—to observe, through their images, what remains unchanged and what has yet to fully transform.
A sign maker, retired boxer, and the protagonist of a life filled with heroic anecdotes, Fenelón Guajardo López is remembered as the Chilean Charles Bronson due to his striking physical resemblance to the American actor. Through a series of interviews and staged scenarios, Fenelón fictionalizes his own life, memories, and aspirations, embodying the figure of a folk hero.
In 'The Chilean Charles Bronson,' Fenelón Guajardo achieves unexpected fame thanks to his resemblance to the American actor. Carlos Flores discovers him in 1978 on a popular television program and recognizes in this character—ridiculous, awkward, and endearing—something of himself and of the country. From that encounter, he constructs a humorous portrait of a Chile seeking to recognize itself in foreign images. The film thus becomes a work about how imported cultural models shape our identity. Because, as Flores himself points out, deep down, ‘we are all the Chilean Charles Bronson.’ This screening will also be a tribute to its director, an essential figure at FIDOCS as a filmmaker, programmer, and festival director, with whom we will have the opportunity to speak after the film.
Carlos Flores Delpino (1944, Chile) is a filmmaker with a master's degree in Art Theory and History. He founded the Chilean Film School, where he served as a professor and academic director until 2009. Currently, he is a full professor at the University of Chile's Film School. His filmography includes notable works such as 'Nutuayin Mapu', 'Descomedidos y chascones', 'Pepe Donoso', 'El Charles Bronson chileno', 'El Estado soy yo', and 'Satelitenis'. He has published the books 'Excéntricos y astutos', 'Idénticamente desigualdad', and 'El cine imperfecto de Carlos Flores'.