CHILEAN FILMMAKER ARRESTED WHILE MAKING FILM ABOUT MAPUCHE.

ELENA VARELA A DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER FROM CHILE WAS ARRESTED LAST WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008 IN HER HOUSE IN LICAN RAY, NEAR VILLARRICA. THE FILM “NEWEN MAPUCHE” WAS INTENDED TO REFLECT THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE MAPUCHE COMMUNITIES OF THE ARAUCANÍA REGION IN THE FACE OF ALL THE POLITICAL AND POLICE REPRESSION THAT HAS BEEN SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF THE CHILEAN STATE JUST TO RECOVER 17 THOUSAND HECTARES FOR LUMBER COMPANIES.

Last Saturday’s press conference called by Audiovisual Platform to bring to light to the mass media the position of the community with respect to the detention of Elena Varela. FILMMAKERS LIKE Andrés Wood, Silvio Caiozzi, Andrés Racz, Pablo Perelman, Alicia Scherson, Cristián Jimenez, the screenwriter July Red, documentary makers like Sebastián Dark, Rodrigo Dark, Paola Castle, Carmen Light Parot, Titian Panizza were in attendance.

THESE SITUATIONS GO TO THE HEART OF ONE OF THE MAIN ISSUES OF THIS ARREST THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN A DEMOCRACY IN CHILE. THE OTHER UNCOMFORTABLE HISTORY HAS TO DO WITH THE HISTORICAL MEMORY OF THIS COUNTRY AND THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ANTIDICTATORIAL STRUGGLE THAT TOOK PLACE IN A TOWN IN SOUTHERN CHILE, WHAT THE CHARGES ARE ARE NOT MADE CLEAR BUT THEY ARE USING THE LAW OF TERRORISM TO KEEP HER UNDER ARREST AND TO CONVESGATE HER VIDEO FOOTAGE. JUDGE ANDREA URBINA DETERMINED THAT ELENA VARELA SHOULD BE IN CUSTODY FOR SIX MONTHS! THAT IS THE TIME DETERMINED BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO CARRY OUT THE INVESTIGATION. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST CASE OF ARRESTED FILMMAKERS MAKING A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE MAPUCHE IN CHILE.

AS WRITTEN IN A STORY FROM THE SANTIAGO TIMES IN MARCH. TWO FRENCH JOURNALISTS, CHRISTOPHE CYRIL HARRISON AND JOFFREY PAUL ROSSJ, WERE PUT UNDER ARREST IN COLLIPULLI, WHILE THEY ACCOMPANIED TO A WERKÉN WITH A CAMERA FOR A DOCUMENTARY WORK THAT WERE DOING .IT TO HAVE FILMED A FIRE THE PREVIOUS NIGHT, OCCURRED IN A NEARBY GROUND. THE POLICE SEIZED THE TEAMS OF FILMING, AS WELL AS THE TAPES THAT CONTAINED THE WORK CARRIED MOMENT. "WE WERE TREATED LIKE SOME DELINQUENTS, ..THEY ACCUSED ME OF CAUSING A FIRE, WHICH IS FALSE. THEY ACCUSED US OF CAUSING THE FIRE AND OF BEING MEMBERS OF THE ETA OF SPAIN, WE DENY CATEGORICALLY", SAID CYRIL TO THE NEWSPAPER THE SOUTHERN PRESS.

ALTHOUGH AN INTENT FOR THE EXPULSION OF THE FOREIGNERS, THE FRENCH CONSUL FRENCH AVOIDED THAT THAT TO OCCUR. SOMEWHAT SIMILAR IT OCCURRED ON SATURDAY 3 OF MAY WITH GIUSEPPE GABRIELE AND DARIO IOSEFFI, TWO ITALIAN DOCUMENTARY MAKERS, AT A TIME WHEN THEY DID AN AUDIOVISUAL REGISTRATION OF A MOBILIZATION ARAUCANIAN IN A GROUND OF FOREST MININCO, CLAIMED ALMOST TWO DECADES AGO BY THE COMMUNITY CHUPILKO.THE ITALIANS WERE FOUND INTERVIEWING TO A LONKO FROM THAT COMMUNITY TO THE MOMENT OF THE DETENTION. "THEY HAVE TRIED US AS THE WORST TERRORISTS OF THE WORLD, THEY APPREHENDED US LIKE IN AN AMERICAN MOVIE, WITH THE FACE ON THE GROUND AND WITH THE WELL TIGHT WIVES, WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT WERE HAPPENING", INDICATED GABRIELE GIUSEPPE.

ALTHOUGH THEY WERE POSITIONS AT LIBERTY AFTER THE DETENTION, THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF RIFLEMEN ACCUSED THEM OF WANTING "TO BE STOLEN THE WOOD IN THE GROUND OF MININCO". THEY TRAVELLED THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS FROM ROME TO STEAL WOOD! MORE UNUSUAL IT WAS THE REACTION OF THE INTENDENTA OF THE REGION OF THE ARAUCANÍA, GLORY BARRIENTOS, THAT DECREED THE EXPULSION OF THE ITALIANS OF THE TERRITORY. A LETTER SENT BY THE MINISTER PAULINA URRUTIA, TO ASSURE THAT THE ENGRAVED MATERIALS BY ELENA VARELA ARE COPIED AND THEREFORE, PROTECTED. THIS SAYS THE LETTER: “WE HAVE PLACED AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO THE NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE AND ITS PROFESSIONALS TO CARRY OUT THE DUTIES ENDORSEMENTS OF THE MATERIAL SEIZED, WITH THE PURPOSE TO AVOID DAMAGES AND ANY RISK OF LOSS.” THE OFFICE OF THE Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes WAS CONTACTED FOR A COMMENT BY THEIR PRESS PERSON THEY DIDN’T RETURN OUR CALLS.





BY:CHRISTIAN PEÑA


LINKS TO THE LA TERCEDA AND YOU TUBE VIDEOS OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE LAST SATURDAY LA TERCEDA:

HTTP://WWW.LATERCERA.CL/CONTENIDO/44_13983_9_0.HTML YOU TUBE VIDEO HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=GAS9FCOZ3LA PART 1 OF 2