Chile has a growing body of national LGBT+ cinema.
History and society In the latter half of the 20th century, Daniel Emilfork, was considered the most prominent Chilean film actor both in Chile and internationally. He resettled in France in 1949, due to homophobic persecution in the country. The star of 2017's A Fantastic Woman, Daniela Vega, was the first transgender person to present at the Oscars.
Homosexuality in Chilean cinema is a subject that is rarely portrayed, with the first openly gay character appearing in 1990, but has been done in a more explicit way in the 21st century — CinemaChile's director Constanza Arena reflected in 2019 that only in the past eight years had filmmaking been able to diversify after dictatorship, giving the example of "the exploration of LGBT issues".
The 2017 release of A Fantastic Woman was said to have "reignited a conversation about trans rights in Chile", and ultimately was a deciding factor in the country passing Gender Identity Laws in 2018 after the filmmakers reportedly took its Oscar to then-President Michelle Bachelet.
Murder of Daniel Zamudio in film
The 2016 film Jesús tells the true story of a young gay man who was beaten to death in a park, matching this with the irony of two of his attackers engaging in gay sex shortly afterwards, with the director saying he wanted to show the complexity of the event and its and the killer's place in society; one of the real killers was also bisexual. He has also said that he would not label the film an LGBT film, because its young sexually-fluid protagonist does not label himself either. Álex Anwandter's Nunca vas a estar solo, released the same year, is based on the same event and also shows the bisexuality of one of the killers, using its narrative to challenge Chileans to look at their homophobia and question its origins. Both films ignore the "neo-nazi" rhetoric about the killers used in the news, to reflect that many regular Chileans held homophobic views.
Films
YearFilm titleDirectorNotes1990Caluga o mentaGonzalo JustinianoLuis Alarcón stars as the first gay character2002El RegaloCarmen García Pexoshort2008MuñecaSebastián Arrau2009LokasGonzalo Justiniano2010Blokesshort2010Des/EsperandoErick Salas Kirchhausen2010DramaMatias Lira2010Otra película de amorEdwin Oyarce2011Mapa para conversar2012Young and Wild (Joven y alocada)Marialy Rivas2012La Santashort2012My Last Round (Mi último round)Julio Jorquera Arriagada2013IglúDiego Ruiz2013Naomi CampbellCamila José Donoso2013Solsticio de primavera para un primer amorshort2014The Guest (La Visita)Mauricio López Fernández2014Plutónshort2015Aguas abajoshort2015He Hated PigeonsIngrid VeningerChilean-Canadian coproduction2015El hombre nuevodocumentary2015In the Grayscale (En la gama de los grises)Claudio Marcone2015Lost Queens (Locas Perdidas)Ignacio Juricicshort; Winner of a Cannes Queer Palme2015Nasty BabySebastián Silva2015San CristóbalOmar Zuñigashort - Winner of the Berlin Short award2015El Bosque de KaradimaMatias Lira2016El Destello de la Luna (2016 film) Gustavo Letelier2016JesúsFernando Guzzoni2016You'll Never Be Alone (Nunca vas a estar solo)Álex Anwandter2016RaraPepa San Martín2016The Devil's MagnificentNicolás VidelaStarring Chilean transgender actress Manuela Guevara2016Chameleon (Camaleón)Jorge Riquelme Serrano2017A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica)Sebastián LelioWon the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film2018Cola de MonoAlberto Fuguet2018DisobedienceSebastián Lelio2019LemebelJoanna Reposi GaribaldiDocumentary2019EnigmaIgnacio Juricic2019The Prince (El principe)Sebastián Muñoz2019The Strong Ones (Los Fuertes)Omar Zuñiga2020My Tender Matador (Tengo miedo torero)Rodrigo Sepúlveda2020Shining Moon Director's CutGustavo Letelier
See also LGBT culture in Chile: Cinema
References