Cofralandes: A Formative Space for Chilean Identity

The first four parts of writer-director Raul Ruiz’s unfinished Cofralandes, Chilean Rhapsody (2002, alternative subtitle: Impressions of Chile) radically breach the frontiers between artist, researcher, and educator in the generation of a profoundly poetic (trans)formative space for Chilean identity. In order to address this multifaceted work, which was awarded the Glauber Rocha Award for Best Latin American Film and the International Press Award (FIPRESCI) at the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival, I shall discuss Ruiz’s reflections on cinema and his dialogue with avant-garde theories and practices, the construction of the social, and the (trans)formative potential of the audiovisual arts.