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The Pearl Button

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The Pearl Button
Film poster
Directed byPatricio Guzmán
Produced byRenate Sachse
CinematographyKatell Djian
Release dates
  • 8 February 2015 (2015-02-08) (Berlin)
  • 15 October 2015 (2015-10-15) (Chile)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryChile
LanguageSpanish

The Pearl Button (Template:Lang-es) is a 2015 Chilean documentary film directed by Patricio Guzmán. It was screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival[1] where it won the Silver Bear for Best Script.[2] It won the Lumières Award for Best Documentary at the 21st Lumières Awards.[3] The filmmaker has described the work as part of a triptych with Nostalgia for the Light and third film The Cordillera of Dreams focusing on the Andes.[4]

It explores familiar Guzmán themes such as memory and the historical past, particularly that of history's losers rather than victors, recording some of the last surviving members of the original Alacalufe and Yaghan tribes.[5] A departure for Guzmán is that it does not focus solely on Chile's past under Augusto Pinochet, as the title was partly inspired by a shirt button discovered during a 2004 investigation by Chilean judge Juan Guzmán on a length of rail used to weigh the bodies of Pinochet's victims dumped in the sea and partly by the button after which the Yaghan native Jemmy Button was named when taken aboard HMS Beagle in 1830.[5]

Summary

The film is a contemplative exploration of the geography and history of Chile, with a focus on water, which permeates the country and sustains its people. The narrative examines the fate of two persecuted groups - the indigenous peoples and the victims of Pinochet. The topics covered include the far north of Chile, which is the driest place on earth, where radio telescopes in the desert reveal new insights about the cosmos every day. The film also touches on personal experiences, such as a school friend lost to the sea.

The narrative delves into the genocide of the native tribes in the far south and how their way of life was destroyed. It also shares the story of Jemmy Button, who was taken from Tierra del Fuego to England. The film touches on the efforts made under Allende to rehabilitate the surviving tribespeople and the concentration camps established under Pinochet. It depicts how inmates were tortured and their bodies, weighted with lengths of rail, were dropped from helicopters into the Pacific. The film reveals how one corpse was washed ashore, and how one of the lengths of rail recovered from the sea had a mother-of-pearl shirt button encrusted to it. Overall, the film provides a powerful meditation on the impact of historical events on individuals and communities.

Accolades

List of Accolades
Award / Film Festival Category Recipient(s) Result
2015 Biografilm Festival Best film Unipol Award Patricio Guzmán Won[6][7]
2015 Biografilm Festival Audience Award Patricio Guzmán Won[7]
2015 Berlin International Film Festival Silver Berlin Bear for Best Script Patricio Guzmán Won[8]
2015 Berlin International Film Festival Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Patricio Guzmán Won[8]
2015 Berlin International Film Festival Golden Berlin Bear Patricio Guzmán Nominated[8]
2015 Philadelphia Film Festival Best Documentary Feature The Pearl Button Won[9]

References

  1. ^ "Berlinale 2015: Competition Complete". berlinale.de. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Prizes of the International Jury". Berlinale. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  3. ^ "France's Lumiere Awards: 'Mustang' Takes Top Honors". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Water Is The Connection: An Interview with Patricio Guzmán". Sounds and Colours. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b Hopewell, John (29 January 2015). "Pyramide Int. Brings 'The Pearl Button' Onto the International Market". Variety. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Sala Bio presenta "La Memoria dell'Acqua": martedì 26 aprile al Cinema Colosseo". Milano Today. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Edizione 2015". Biografilm. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Eva, Usi (11 December 2015). "The mother-of-pear button". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  9. ^ "The Pearl Button Awards". IMDB. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
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