This week marks half a century since the beginning of Augusto Pinochet’s brutal 17-year dictatorship – a dark and devastating period of Chile’s history that continues to leave scars on the South American country.
On September 11 1973, Pinochet led a right-wing military coup, ending the democratically-elected socialist Popular Unity coalition of President Salvador Allende.
Anyone wanting to understand Chile’s turbulent political and social recent history should turn to the films of Patricio Guzmán, the country’s most important documentary filmmaker, who has just been honoured with Chile’s National Arts Prize for his work.
