In the weeks that followed the September 11, 1973 coup, the military government began a massive operation to exterminate dissidents. Community leaders, leftist activists, and even people with no political affiliations were arrested, tortured, and executed. During the spring nights of 1973, military trucks drove through Santiago picking up hundreds of dead bodies; many of them were buried in unmarked graves in a desolate area known as Patio 29 in Santiago's General Cemetery. This film documents the horrific events through interviews with victims' relatives, witnesses to the executions, lawyers, and forensic anthropologists who exhumed and identified the remains 20 years later.  

Reviews:

The filmmaker does a remarkable job in conveying these events [of the coup d'etat on September 11, 1973] through the use of actual film footage, photographs and newspaper clippings. These media are then juxtaposed to present-day interviews with those who lost loved ones during the coup and with shots of the most notorious areas where victim’s bodies were dumped. All these things come together and present the story of PATIO 29 and the brutality of the period in a way that conveys the emotional impact of what happened without being overly sensationalized. This film would be a welcome addition to any Latin American studies program. The film was very well done, informative, and emotive. It also, induces or inspires a certain amount of geopolitical reflection. *Highly recommended*  

Price
Institutional: $200.00
Home: $49.95