Abstract

In recent years, Chile has seen the emergence of a dynamic network of local film festivals. Besides older and recognized film festivals in Valdivia and Santiago, such as FICValdivia (established 1994) and FIDOCS (established 1997), and the historic Viña del Mar (established 1967, revived 1990), during the 2000s many other festivals were created throughout the country. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork among Chilean film professionals in national and transnational settings, this essay provides an overview of the emergence of film festivals in Chile, related to both local and global trends. These festivals have appeared in relation to the blossoming of international film festivals worldwide and the constraints on local exhibition in Chile, and as a result of the specific political and economic conditions embedded in new national cultural polices which have enabled their existence. The article traces these articulations, and compares the specific trajectories of the most relevant Chilean film festivals nowadays, analyzing these events’ national and transnational connections.