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Manuela Martelli Calls Culture Budget Cuts “A Great Tragedy” Image: Ronda Cine
🇨🇱 Chile /Culture & Society

Manuela Martelli Calls Culture Budget Cuts “A Great Tragedy”

From Cooperativa · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Chilean director Manuela Martelli described deep cuts to the cultural sector under José Antonio Kast’s government as “a great tragedy.”
  • Martelli said Chile has significant film talent and that cinema supports both international visibility and employment.
  • She discussed the issue while presenting “El Deshielo,” selected by Chile’s Film Academy to represent the country at the next Oscars.

Manuela Martelli has described budget cuts affecting Chile’s cultural sector as “a great tragedy,” arguing that the country’s film industry is more than a cultural pursuit. In an interview with Cooperativa, the director said cinema also provides jobs and gives Chile a way to be known abroad.

A great tragedy.

— Manuela MartelliMartelli’s assessment of the government’s deep budget cuts affecting Chile’s cultural sector.

Martelli criticized what she sees as a lack of understanding within José Antonio Kast’s government that national cinema is “another industry.” She said Chile has considerable talent, but that creative work faces a difficult situation as public support for culture is reduced.

Another industry.

— Manuela MartelliThe phrase she said the government should use to understand national cinema.

The comments came as Martelli discussed her new film, “El Deshielo,” which Chile’s Film Academy selected to represent the country at the next Academy Awards. The film follows her debut behind the camera, “1976.”

We have a lot of talent in Chile, and I believe cinema is a tremendous way not only to make ourselves known abroad, but also a source of work.

— Manuela MartelliHer explanation of why cinema matters culturally and economically.

Martelli described the production of “El Deshielo” as “a small Fitzcarraldo,” referring to the demanding production of Werner Herzog’s film. She emphasized that the comparison was deliberate, though the available account ends before explaining the specific difficulties behind the description.

A small Fitzcarraldo.

— Manuela MartelliHer description of the difficult production of “El Deshielo,” referring to Werner Herzog’s film.
About this summary

Originally published by Cooperativa in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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