In The Days

• Source: Santiago Times
• News Date: 11/28/07

(Nov. 28, 2007) The Santiago Library will host the opening of the Gay and Lesbian Film, Documentary and Short Film Series on Thursday evening. The series was organized by Chile’s Movement for Homosexual Integration and Freedom (Movilh) with the collaboration of the Santiago Library and Chile’s Office of Libraries, Archives and Museums (Dibam) (ST, Nov. 26).

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. ”
—Luke 17:26-30

The series is the first of its kind to be presented in Santiago with the support of public institutions, Movilh activist Juan Hernández told The Santiago Times. He added that it is also the first to receive funding from Spanish organizations: The event was sponsored by the Spanish groups Fundación Triángulo, Diputación de Badajoz, Comunidad de Madrid, Cooperación Extremeña and LesGaiCineMad, Fundación Triángulo’s international film festival in Madrid.

Movilh chose the films for the series, the majority of which were made by homosexual directors or with the participation of homosexual actors, from a selection provided by Fundación Triángulo and LesGaiCineMad.

Another way in which the series differs from its predecessors is that it includes documentaries and short films in addition to feature-length movies. Hernández emphasized the importance of the documentaries, saying that they delve into themes that generally have not been dealt with openly in Chile’s media.

He said that Chilean television coverage of issues related to sexual minorities, although currently much more frequent than in the past, is always linked to religious discourse or the opinions of uninformed psychologists. He added that television reports frequently exclude important voices, particularly those of children and teenagers.

In contrast, Hernández believes that, “our documentaries show a certain reality as a whole and from all perspectives, not just one.” He said that because of this portrayal, Movilh hopes that heterosexual viewers will take advantage of the film series to become more informed about sexual minorities.

Movilh and the Santiago Library began jointly planning the film series approximately one year ago. Santiago Library representative Paula Uribe said that the series is part of the library’s efforts to promote pluralistic discussion of issues related to gender and sexuality, an initiative which has also included sexual education classes for young people.

Movilh hopes to offer an expanded film series next year. One of the organization’s specific goals is to include work by Chilean filmmakers — absent from this year’s lineup — by holding a short film contest for students.

Hernández claimed that Chile’s society, despite having become significantly more open to sexual minorities in the past 10 years, still has a long way to go. “The discrimination against sexual minorities is still some of the worst in the country,” he said, stating that transvestites have been murdered and homosexual children have been expelled from their schools.

The Santiago Library is located at 151 Matucana in Santiago’s Estación Central District. The film series will run on Thursday and Friday evenings through December 14 and will be free for the public (ST, Nov. 26).