Paris-based Les Films D’Ici (“Waltz with Bashir”) has boarded Chilean doc “El Porvenir de la Mirada,” produced by Santiago-based Storyboard Media and associate produced by Academy Award winner Sebastian Lelio (“A Fantastic Woman”).
The feature-length doc chronicles the trauma of young protesters shot in the eyes by Chilean riot police during the massive demonstrations that roiled Chile in October 2019.
Said producer Charlotte Uzu of Les Films D’ici: “It’s an important film that will portray people’s brave and necessary fight against the blindness of conscience.”
“We’re delighted at how our project has been received at Cannes’ Marché du Film and even more so now that we can count on the vast experience of the prestigious Les Films D’Ici as our producing partner,” said Storyboard Media’s Carlos Nunez, who founded the production company with Gabriela Sandoval. “We’re certain that their participation will give the project a global dimension,” he added.
“El Porvenir de la Mirada” (roughly translated to “The Gaze of the Future”) is written and directed by Cristián Leighton who began filming at the Ocular Trauma Unit of the Hospital del Salvador as hundreds of protestors were brought in, shot in the eyes with rubber bullets and pellets by Chile’s security forces.
In all, more than 400 protestors suffered eye injuries or were blinded permanently, marking the worse collective case of eye injuries in international medical history.
The injured protestors share their devastating experience, including their post-traumatic recovery process, and serve as evidence on how the State of Chile violated human rights in a systematic way.
The civil demonstrations, initially sparked by the rise of subway fares in the capital of Santiago, quickly grew to encompass a variety of grievances, including the rising cost of living, privatization and rampant inequality across the country.
Doc participated in the Co-Production Forum of the 2021 San Sebastian Film Festival and now the Producers Network in the Marché Du Film.
Les Films D’Ici also co-produces Directors’ Fortnight title “Pamfir,” a Ukrainian drama from Poland’s Madants and Chile’s Quijote Films.