Santiago International Documentary Festival Unveils 2025 Lineup Featuring The Best of Real Cinema

El Ciudadano

Original article: Festival Internacional de Documentales de Santiago presentó su programación 2025 con «lo mejor del cine de lo real»

Starting Tuesday, November 4th, the full schedule for FIDOCS 29, the Santiago International Documentary Festival, is available. The festival will take place from November 19 to 26, across four walkable venues in the heart of the capital: Cineteca Nacional de Chile, Centro Arte Alameda – Sala CEINA, Sala K / U. Mayor, and Sala Cine Centro de Extensión UC.

Among the significant premieres from renowned contemporary filmmakers featured at the festival is ‘Cover-Up’, a political thriller about Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, who unveiled the CIA’s role in Chile, co-directed by Mark Obenhaus and Oscar-winner Laura Poitras (‘Citizenfour’, ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’).

Another highlight is ‘Sotto le nuvole’, a visual meditation by Italian-American filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi on the past and present of Naples, premiered at the Venice Film Festival; and ‘O Riso e a Faca’ by Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Pinho, which had its premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and addresses neocolonialism in Africa.

The festival’s honored guest for 2025, Lucrecia Martel, will kick off this edition with her first documentary, ‘Nuestra tierra’, also premiered at the Venice Film Festival and recently awarded Best Film at the London Film Festival. This Chilean premiere will have a second public screening on Friday, November 21 at 7:45 PM in Sala K / U. Mayor.

Just days before the festival begins, its artistic director Antonia Girardi remarks: “This edition is marked by various reflections on territory and how we resist the most adverse conflicts through the construction or reconstruction of images and stories that can endure over time. In this framework, we will host important figures who have revolutionized contemporary cinema like Lucrecia Martel, alongside new voices such as Argentine-British filmmaker Jessica Sarah Rinland and multidisciplinary Taiwanese artist Su Hui-Yu, who are part of the focuses FIDOCS 29 offers.”

In this context, another focus is dedicated to photographer and filmmaker Cecilia Mangini (1927-2021), a pioneer of Italian post-war documentary cinema known for her deeply engaged social and political perspective.

Meanwhile, Ventana Docudays UA is a showcase in partnership with the International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Docudays UA, bringing together three documentaries that explore the echoes of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia: ‘2000 Meters to Andriivka’ by Mstyslav Chernov, ‘Fragments of Ice’ by Maria Stoianova, and ‘Militantropos’ directed by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, and Simon Mozgovyi.

For Martín Castillo, programming director of FIDOCS 29, this year’s curation will create a journey from the opening to the closing function, connecting territories, memories, and resistances: “Moreover, this same impulse runs through both the national and international competitions, unfolding a sensitive map where distant realities connect through the cinema of the real. In a present saturated with viral, flat, and disposable images, the Festival bets on cinema that resists the immediate: it observes, listens, and returns depth to the gaze.”

In this vein, the closing function – premiering in Santiago – is ‘With Hasan in Gaza’ by Kamal Aljafari (featured image), a cinematic reflection on memory, loss, and the passage of time. This documentary will also have a public screening on Wednesday, November 26 at 8:30 PM at Centro Arte Alameda – Sala CEINA, where the Palestinian cause will be addressed with ‘Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk’ by Sepideh Farsi.

Additionally, the Lebanese film ‘Partition’ by Diana Allan (International Competition) and the short ‘Baisanos’ by Andrés and Francisca Khamis (National Competition for Emerging Shorts) transform the experience of exile and occupation into a poetic form of resistance.

Political Memory

A theme that has always been present in FIDOCS’ history is political memory. With ‘Cartas a mis padres muertos’ by Ignacio Agüero (Special Functions), the author intertwines over five decades of his life with the sociopolitical history of Chile; similarly, ‘La vida que vendrá’ by Karin Cuyul (National Competition), rearticulates Chilean history from the Popular Unity period to the present through unofficial archives and amateur recordings.

The environmental conflict will be highlighted in documentaries such as ‘Shifting Baselines’ by Julien Elie (International Competition) and ‘Desierto verde’ by Meliza Luna Venegas (National Competition). Both examine the relationship between humanity and nature, ranging from poetic to political perspectives.

On another note, three essays on visual culture, performative art, and the digital present are part of the films showcased in the Special Functions section: ‘Videoheaven’ by Alex Ross Perry, which rescues the video store as a fundamental space for cinematic culture; ‘Monk in Pieces’ by David C. Roberts and Billy Shebar, a collective portrait of composer and multidisciplinary artist Meredith Monk, presented in collaboration with the IN-EDIT Chile International Music Film and Documentary Festival; and ‘Paul’ by Denis Côté, following a depressed man who finds redemption by cleaning the homes of dominatrices and sharing his experience on Instagram.

This year, FIDOCS Expandido, a space for interdisciplinary meeting, will focus on the following experiences: the experimental work ‘Dipolo Fase III’ by Carolina Adriazola and José Luis Sepúlveda; the short film ‘Lengua muerta’ by José Jiménez; and the video performance: ‘El Estado soy yo’, by Carlos Flores and Sebastián Arriagada. This last event will be open to the public with prior registration as part of Escuela FIDOCS.

Finally, as is tradition, the Festival acts as a showcase for national and international premieres that often remain outside commercial screening circuits.

This year, the International Competition features prominent titles including ‘El Príncipe de Nanawa’ by Clarisa Navas, which will premiere in Santiago; ‘Imag’o by Déni Oumar Pitsaev – winner of the Golden Eye at Cannes; and ‘White Snail’ by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter, having their first screenings in our country.

Moreover, in the National Competition, ‘Esa otra selva blanca’ by Teresa Arredono, ‘Nueve diferentes matices de un mismo color’ by Carlos Vásquez Méndez, and ‘Cobija’ by Pamela Pequeño will premiere in Chile. Lastly, ‘La corazonada’ by Diego Soto will have its premiere in the capital at FIDOCS.

Check the complete schedule at Fidocs.cl