Questions à Thomas Lalire et Benoît Keller sur le film documentaire Revoir l’ambassade. Chili 1973

Abstract

The cruel repression against the opponents of the coup d’état organized against the regime of Salvador Allende on 11 September 1973 pushed hundreds of them into exile. From September 1973 to July 1974, several hundred people were welcomed in the embassy, as well as in the residence of the French ambassador and his wife, Pierre and Françoise De Menthon, Fifty years later, the exiles who agreed to recall the memory of this history bear witness to their improvisation and dedication. For Cahiers d’histoire, the two directors evoke the meaning and the stakes of their work, produced by Pauline Marion-Mataillet for La Société des Apaches. The film premiered at the Maison de l’Amérique latine in Paris in July 2022, in the presence of the President of the Chilean Republic, Gabriel Boric. A version of 52 minutes is available in replay on France TV, a version of 68 minutes is offered to independent cinemas, associations and collectives who would like to show it.

Keywords

• refugees
• Chili
• De Menthon
• ambassador
• Allende
• Pinochet