Those who have a memory are able to live in the fragile present moment. Those who have none don't live anywhere. Patricio Guzmn, "Nostalgia de la luz"

On Tuesday August 12th, Patricio Guzmn's 2010 documentary film "Nostalgia de la luz" "Nostalgia for the Light" will be screening at the Belljar Cafe as part of its exciting summer series of free weekly movie screenings.

Guzmn is probably best known for his astonishing three-part documentary film "La Batalla de Chile" "The Battle of Chile" about the 1973 coup in Chile. His most recent film "Nostalgia de la luz" is a political documentary that portrays two parallel explorations of the past and its memories taking place in the Chilean Atacama desert. This unique "small brown patch that has absolutely no humidity" preserves history unlike any other place on our planet. While Astronomers are using their telescopes to search the sky for planets long gone, relatives of people who were made to disappear under the Pinochet regime are digging the earth for traces of their loved ones that were buried there. Confronted with the same impasse to ever grasp the present, both of them are examining remnants of the past to find answers for here and now.

Camilo Lanfranco will give a brief introductory talk to situate the documentary within some of Guzmn's work and the historico-political landscape of present-day Chile, as well as to equip us with some points of orientation while we accompany those archeologists on their quests under the open sky.

When: Tuesday, August 12th, 9pm.

Talk: 9pm sharp.

Screening: 9.30pm.

Where: Belljar Cafe, 2072 Dundas West, Toronto.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vok7f4MLL-Hk

Belljar's summer film series: http://www.belljarcafe.com/free-movie-tuesdays

If weather permits, the movie will screen on Belljar's beautiful patio.