Santiago Files
Encyclopedia
Santiago Files, directed by Cetywa Powell
, is a documentary film
about Salvador Allende
's topple from Chile's unstable government and the players in his downfall: the CIA, Chile's military, and Allende himself. Malcolm McDowell
narrates the film. The film premiered in September 2011.
"The most memorable conclusion I can recall from the film [Santiago Files], was that Allende had been a leader – and whenever a leader arises in Latin America, the US finds a way to get rid of him. We played a role, but the Chileans made this happen. Think of it? We invested $10 million in supporting opposition groups and media. Even in that time, it wasn't very much. The fact is that after the decisions he made in the first year, time was not on his side. Unless he could control his own coalition – which he couldn't – the downward cycle was just going to continue." --Judd L. Kessler (Regional Legal Advisor at the U.S. Embassy, 1970-1973)
Chilean Author and Playwright. Salvador Allende's cultural advisor (1970–1973)
Isabel Allende
Chilean Author. Salvador Allende's niece
Judd L. Kessler
Regional Legal Advisor at the US Embassy in Chile (1970–1973)
Cetywa Powell
-Filmography:* Dawn At Midnight * Santiago Files Narrated by Malcolm McDowell* Dirty Hands -Books:Published by Underground Voices and edited by Cetywa Powell....
, is a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
's topple from Chile's unstable government and the players in his downfall: the CIA, Chile's military, and Allende himself. Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
narrates the film. The film premiered in September 2011.
Film Festivals and Screenings
- Landmark Theatres Nuart, Los Angeles (Oct, 2011)
- International Crime And Punishment Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey (Sep 23-30, 2011) http://www.icapff.com/index.php?lang=en
Subject matter
CIA documents on Salvador Allende were released to the public in 2000. Santiago Files uses CIA documents, taped conversations with Richard Nixon discussing Allende, interview clips with former Director of the CIA, Richard Helms, interview clips with Henry Kissinger, and interview clips with Salvador Allende to tell its story."The most memorable conclusion I can recall from the film [Santiago Files], was that Allende had been a leader – and whenever a leader arises in Latin America, the US finds a way to get rid of him. We played a role, but the Chileans made this happen. Think of it? We invested $10 million in supporting opposition groups and media. Even in that time, it wasn't very much. The fact is that after the decisions he made in the first year, time was not on his side. Unless he could control his own coalition – which he couldn't – the downward cycle was just going to continue." --Judd L. Kessler (Regional Legal Advisor at the U.S. Embassy, 1970-1973)
Contributors
Ariel DorfmanAriel Dorfman
Vladimiro Ariel Dorfman is an Argentine-Chilean novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. A citizen of the United States since 2004, he has been a professor of literature and Latin American Studies at Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina since 1985.-Personal...
Chilean Author and Playwright. Salvador Allende's cultural advisor (1970–1973)
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende Llona is a Chilean writer with American citizenship. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the "magic realist" tradition, is famous for novels such as The House of the Spirits and City of the Beasts , which have been commercially successful...
Chilean Author. Salvador Allende's niece
Judd L. Kessler
Regional Legal Advisor at the US Embassy in Chile (1970–1973)