Dispatches from Cannes: Salvador Allende's Widow Speaks in New Documentary
Hortensia Allende lost a husband and a daughter to suicide. Salvador Allende, the democratically elected president of Chile from 1970-73, shot himself just before his palace was captured by the military in the coup that would blight the human rights of the county until 1990. Beatriz Allende killed herself in Cuba. She was in exile, just like the rest of her family. These dramatic and tragic events form the centre of Marcia Tambutti Allende’s debut, Beyond My Grandfather Allende. Marcia’s conversational process of drawing out memories from her stoical family poses the question: is it kinder to let people stay silent on their traumas or is it better in the long run for them to tell their stories?
Hortensia – affectionately referred to as ‘Tencha’ – has a face that is as beautiful as it is sorrowful. “When will this very long interview end?” she asks as the film opens. She is 92 and lives a quiet life in the present. As Marcia determinedly pushes to hear recollections other family members become defensive on her behalf .
“If she’s sealed off, it’s because she’s protecting herself. She’s had a hard life and she’s always needed to protect herself,” says Isabel – Chilean politician, mother to Marcia and daughter of Tencha. It turns out that there was hurt before there was a bloodshed as Salvador was a serial philanderer. All of this is buried. Maybe it should stay buried, is a thought that dawns as the camera captures a beautiful, sad old lady’s resistance to opening old wounds. And yet the very act of filming and recognising a woman that has lived in the shadow of a man, even after his death, is incredibly powerful. And the documentary canon of Chilean history is now richer for her inclusion.
You might like
New film spotlights London’s Bubble Club, the party by people with learning disabilities
Radically inclusive clubbing — Produced by Muddled Marauders and currently fundraising for completion, the feature documentary focuses on the inclusive night, which has been in operation since 2005.
Written by: Roxana Diba
Confronting America’s history of violence against student protest
Through A Mirror, Darkly — In May 1970, two separate massacres at American college campuses saw deaths at the hands of the state. Naeem Mohaiemen’s new three-channel film memorialises the brutality.
Written by: Miss Rosen
New documentary spotlights Brixton’s community in the face of gentrification
Beyond Brix & Mortar — With property prices rising by 1,700% since the ’80s, the film explores the rich cultural history of the area’s Afro-Caribbean community, and the threat to the area’s soul.
Written by: Sydney Lobe
On the set of ‘La Bamba’, lost Latino legend Ritchie Valens’s biopic
The overnight rockstar — The Chicano rock & roll star exploded overnight in the late ’50s, but just as quickly he was gone, killed in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly. An ’80s biopic saw him immortalised on the big screen, which photographer Merrick Morton captured behind the scenes.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The Women of the Sea Film Fund is granting £10k to tell femme-focused surfing stories
Finisterre x London Surf / Film Festival — Open exclusively to women to tell stories about other women, applications are open until March 8.
Written by: Isaac Muk
New documentary explores football ultras culture around the world
ULTRAS — Directed by Swedish filmmaker Ragnhild Ekner, the film takes an insider’s view of the terrace subculture, and the unifying power of fandom.
Written by: Isaac Muk
