From THE BATTLE OF CHILE, filmed in black and white, on 16mm film, in the midst of social upheaval and revolution, to NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT, filmed with modern digital technology, filled with vibrant colors, poetic connections and introspection, Patricio Guzman's epic body of work is the unprecedented record of one country's journey and one filmmaker's evolution.
Born in Santiago de Chile in 1941, Guzman is one of the leading documentary filmmakers in the world. He studied filmmaking at the Film Institute at the Catholic University of Chile, and at the Official School of Film in Madrid. After the 1973 Chilean coup Guzman left the country and has lived in Cuba, Spain and France, where he currently resides. Six of his films have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, including THE BATTLE OF CHILE, THE PINOCHET CASE, SALVADOR ALLENDE, and NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT, for which he received the Grand Award from the European Film Academy in 2011.
Guzman's THE BATTLE OF CHILE remains one of the most widely praised documentary films of all time, and was named "one of the 10 best political documentary films in the world" by Cineaste. His films have been extensively screened worldwide and he's been the subject of numerous film retrospectives, most recently at the British Film Institute, Harvard Film Archive, and BAMcinematek. In 2013, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
The FIVE FILMS BY PATRICIO GUZMAN eight-disc box set offers an extraordinary opportunity to experience the work of one of the world's leading documentarians, the only director with two films in the top 20 of Sight & Sound's list of Greatest Documentaries of All Time. It contains:
- First-ever comprehensive survey of Guzman's work, representing a 35 year span of Guzman's films over eight DVDs
- 24-page booklet with a new essay written by Jose Miguel Palacios
- Exclusive feature-length film about Guzman, FILMING OBSTINATELY, MEETING PATRICIO GUZMAN (2014) by Boris Nicot, an intimate journey of the filmmaker's work in the shadow of the tumultuous history of Chile.
- Guzman's most well-known and highly praised works, including:
PART ONE (1975), PART TWO (1976) and PART THREE (1978) of the epic and universally acclaimed chronicle of Chile's open and peaceful socialist revolution, and of the violent counter-revolution against it in 1973.
(1997) The poignant portrait of a nation battling with historical reminiscences.
(2001) The haunting story of the landmark legal case against General Augusto Pinochet before and after his arrest in London in 1998
(2004) The poetic and definitive portrait of the Chilean leader; and
(2011) The gorgeous, personal meditation on astronomy, archaeology, and politics.
"A box set you truly can't afford to miss!"—CriterionCast
"A quintet of Guzman's most influential and potent works."—Los Angeles Times
"Mr. Guzman's belief in eternal memory is an astounding leap of faith."—The New York Times
"What the world knows of Chile in the 1970s, it knows through the films of Patricio Guzman."—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Guzman's movies have the thrust of manifestoes and the layered richness of epic novels."—New York Magazine
"If you're a fan of Patricio Guzman, or the act of film editing, [FILMING OBSTINATELY] is the perfect film for you."—Toronto Film Scene
"A collection worthy of contemplation and discussion for years to come."—Documentary Magazine