The Pearl Button
| The Pearl Button | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Patricio Guzmán |
| Produced by | Renate Sachse |
| Cinematography | Katell Djian |
Release dates |
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Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | Chile |
| Language | Spanish |
The Pearl Button (Spanish: El botón de nácar) 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]
Synopsis
The filmmaker has described the film as part of a diptych with Nostalgia for the Light, exploring familiar Guzmán themes such as memory and the historical past, particularly of that of the history's "losers" rather than victors, as it documents the settlement of Chile’s Tierra del Fuego, including some of the last surviving descendants of the original Alacalufe and Yaghan inhabitants.[4]
Title
While this film is a departure for Guzmán, in that it does not directly focus on Chile’s past under Augusto Pinochet, the title was partly inspired by a shirt button discovered during a 2004 investigation by Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán. The button was wedged in rails recovered from the sea, which were used to dispose of the bodies of Pinochet’s victims—with an additional reference being to a pearl button with which Robert FitzRoy bought or, in another interpretation, secured the cooperation of, Yaghan native Jemmy Button and subsequently brought him to England.[4]
References
- ↑ "Berlinale 2015: Competition Complete". berlinale.de. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- ↑ "Prizes of the International Jury". Berlinale. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ↑ "France's Lumiere Awards: 'Mustang' Takes Top Honors". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 February 2016.
- 1 2 Hopewell, John (29 January 2015). "Pyramide Int. Brings ‘The Pearl Button’ Onto the International Market". Variety. Retrieved 29 January 2015.