Icarus Films announced this past week that documentary
filmmaker Patricio Guzmán’s Golden Eye award-winner at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival,
The Cordillera of Dreams,
will be available as both DVD and Blu-ray product offerings on Sept. 8.
In an absolute stunner, Guzmán’s third film in his
Chile Trilogy (Nostalgia for the Light, The Pearl
Button and now The
Cordillera of Dreams) opened at the Cannes Film
Festival in May of last year and captured the top award for documentary films
and then proceeded to play the international film festival circuit during the
months that fpllowed, where the buzz was electrifying.
In August of last year, word reached the domestic
trade press that Icarus Films had acquired the North American rights to this Pyramide
International and Atacama Productions release.
Icarus then carefully guided the film through the
gauntlet of festival screening throughout the balance of 2019, with stops at
TIFF DOCs, the Chicago International Film Festival and the showcase screening
at the IFC Center in New York City. With
this process completed, the next step for Icarus Films was to release Guzmán’s
film theatrically in the domestic marketplace, which took place on Valentine’s
Day of this year.
Exactly one month into the film’s run all theatres
in the United States shutdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. That was it for the theatrical distribution
of Guzmán’s The Cordillera of Dreams … for
the record, the ARR works out to 207 days.
All of this careful work was not wasted, Icarus
Films was able to get the word out about Guzmán’s latest film, which will pay
dividends in September.
The story of The
Cordillera of Dreams, of course, begins with
filmmaker Patricio Guzmán’s chronicling of the events that have unfolded since
the 1970s in Chile, which is tied directly to his own personal experiences,
including a daring escape from his native land and the Swiss Embassy spiriting
his to-be-seized films out of the country before they could be destroyed.
His epic, three-part, The Battle
of Chile chronicled the events that
unfolded during the tumultuous 70s, burst upon the international scene in 1976
and Patricio Guzmán’s credentials as a filmmaker were firmly established.
Over the years, The
Southern Cross, The Pinochet Case, Salvador Allende, Nostalgia for the Light, The Pearl
Button and many more followed, which brings us to The
Cordillera of Dreams, his latest, filmed entirely in
his native Chile.
He looks back at the history of his country, his life
and how quickly his childhood turned into a flight for his own safety. And yet here, in the mountains near Santiago,
he is able find solace and is able to focus on the past … and in many ways, the
now.
Through stunning, even-breathtaking cinematography (by
Samuel Lahu), Guzmán showcases the rugged beauty of Chile and blends in interviews
with artists and professionals who have lived through the dramatic history of
his country. An amazing journey; a marvelous
story, that will be available from Icarus Films on Sept. 8 as both DVD and Blu-ray
editions.
Bonus goodies include a newly-prepared video session
with filmmaker Patricio Guzmán, a short documentary on Guzmán's Films, a
making-of featurette, deleted scenes and extended interview sessions.
The Cordillera of Dreams is
presented in Spanish with English subtitles.
Of note, back in 2015 Icarus Films made available the
eight-disc collection titled Five Films by Patricio Guzman, which includes The
Battle of Chile, Parts 1, 2 & 3, Chile, the Obstinate Memory, The Pinochet
Case, Salvador Allende, Nostalgia for the Light …
and more.
