La ciudad perdida
Chile
Francisco Hervé
City of the Lost Caesars is a film about a wonderful civilization, where there is no poverty and where immigrants and natives live in harmony between them and the environment that surrounds them. It is a documentary film about a perfect society that refuses to be found.
The film takes the form of a journey through the region of Aysén, in the Chilean Patagonia, in search of this mythical city, supposedly built in gold 500 years ago. A voice leads us along the way. It’s someone we never see, but leaves instructions to follow him: a sort of spoken map to find the City of Gold.
As we follow our guide through these magnificent and almost inhabited landscapes, we meet some people. A North American immigrant who dreams about becoming a gaucho; a teacher who encourages her students to fight against hydroelectric projects; a prisoner who patiently prepares himself for his return to freedom; and a mysterious man who hides in the mountains, are some of them. They all personally experience the tension there is between having to accept a determined way of coexistence and at the same time wanting to change it, even when it seems impossible. Our guide makes us see how these encounters are a must on our way towards the Enchanted City, and at the same time how they warn us about the dangers we face on the route.
Is it possible we may get lost and never reach The Caesars?
Through this journey in search of a perfect society that does not exist, we will encounter a social reality that is not perfect at all. We hope this encounter may arise questions about how possible and how valuable it can be to build forms of society that balance the search for progress with the development of human values.
The film takes the form of a journey through the region of Aysén, in the Chilean Patagonia, in search of this mythical city, supposedly built in gold 500 years ago. A voice leads us along the way. It’s someone we never see, but leaves instructions to follow him: a sort of spoken map to find the City of Gold.
As we follow our guide through these magnificent and almost inhabited landscapes, we meet some people. A North American immigrant who dreams about becoming a gaucho; a teacher who encourages her students to fight against hydroelectric projects; a prisoner who patiently prepares himself for his return to freedom; and a mysterious man who hides in the mountains, are some of them. They all personally experience the tension there is between having to accept a determined way of coexistence and at the same time wanting to change it, even when it seems impossible. Our guide makes us see how these encounters are a must on our way towards the Enchanted City, and at the same time how they warn us about the dangers we face on the route.
Is it possible we may get lost and never reach The Caesars?
Through this journey in search of a perfect society that does not exist, we will encounter a social reality that is not perfect at all. We hope this encounter may arise questions about how possible and how valuable it can be to build forms of society that balance the search for progress with the development of human values.
Support:
Festivals and Awards:
Nyon 2016, in competition
Moscow 2017: Best Sound
Moscow 2017: Best Sound