Fernando Krichmar: “Henry Kissinger was not a pacifist like Allende” | His documentary “It’s Not 30 Pesos” will premiere on Thursday at Cinema Gaumont

he Manuel Rodriguez National Front (FPMR) was a Chilean guerrilla organization with a Marxist-Leninist political ideology and a nationalist and revolutionary orientation. The FPMR was officially established on December 14, 1983, and its mission was to counter armed actions aimed at overthrowing the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Fernando Krechmar’s new documentary It’s not 30 pesos. Chile, Genealogy of the UprisingIt delves into the history of this armed organization, which used the name of the Chilean independence hero, who is considered the first gangster in the history of the trans-Andean country.

The documentary – which Opens Thursday at Gaumont Cinema– It shows a group of young actors trying to re-enact some of the basic scenes they are narrating The path of guerrilla warfare created by the Chilean Communist Party, ten years after the genocidal Pinochet dictatorship. In this research, the actors share footage with the real heroes and survivors of this experience. Many of these militants are still persecuted or imprisoned by the current judiciary, thirty years after democracy. While the film was being made, a rebellion broke out against the government of Sebastián Piñera, whose slogan was “It’s not 30 pesos, it’s 30 years,” and this social fact gave new meaning to Krechmar’s film.

“I’ve had personal contacts with Manuel Rodríguez’s National Front comrades since the 1980s, not in cinematic terms but in combat terms,” Krechmar says. “We helped hide some of them, after the failure of the attack on Pinochet in Rosario. I was a member of this organization, but I left more than thirty years ago.” Then the idea came up that the film would highlight that “some of those who fought against the Pinochet dictatorship are still being tried and persecuted in Chile,” as the director says about the germ of cinema. “But as with all documentaries, The real events were bigger than we wanted on the cinematic level.. In fact, they have gone beyond our limits and involved us in other types of more modern issues that are not only related to supporting these companions and stopping their persecution, but also detailing their history and connections with the present. “Today. Chilean news, a current event that at the time had to do with the popular rebellion of 2019,” adds Krechmar.

– Regarding the birth of Manuel Rodriguez’s National Front, why did it appear ten years after the Pinochet coup?

– In my opinion, because of a certain innocence there was regarding the right to respect democracy. he Popular Unity Government who won the elections just a few months before the 1973 coup, had a very clear program: he nationalized copper, distributed land and many other socialist measures, but it is clear that the recently deceased Henry Kissinger was not a pacifist like Allende. So I think the coup in 1973 left them unarmed, confident in the supposed historical democratic character of the Chilean armed forces, which was not true either. They were caught unarmed by the military. After the coup, they began to persecute all opposition parties, including the Communist Party, and completely abolished two central committees. Only in 1977 did they openly talk about fighting by all means, and first the Zero Front appeared in 1980, and then in 1983 the Manuel Rodríguez National Front appeared, which was actually a structure of the Communist Party, but it was also a structure of the Communist Party. It had many militiamen who joined the social struggle that was growing in the face of the disaster that Pinochet’s policies represented for the poor masses.

-What happened between the Front and the Chilean Communist Party?

After the failure of the attack on Pinochet and the harsh repression against them, the party decided to dissolve the Front and join the so-called coalition, the most shocking departure from the dictatorship in Chile. Because in reality it was through a constitution drawn up by Pinochet and with Pinochet, who remained commander of the army for almost ten years. After this abandonment of the party, many members of the Front became an independent National Front and continued to fight for several more years until their main leaders were eliminated: Commander Tamara and Commander José Miguel.

– What did the interviews you conducted with the film’s heroes at that time contribute to shaping your idea for the documentary?

– First of all, they are very rich people, with tremendous life experience, and they support me greatly to this day. He gave us what he had Making films from within organizations, without questioning them, but listening to them. And understanding their reasons, not only generated good brotherhood, but also a lot of cooperation on their part, and a very good willingness to work. It’s something that happened to us too I will be millions At that time and with other films we have worked on with our colleagues since then. For some people, it’s very difficult because a lot of people approach it from an accusatory angle or demanding self-criticism and all that. We always confront this by recognizing their courage in confronting dictatorships, risking their lives. So, upon seeing our work and getting to know us, they immediately trusted us and gave themselves completely to the film.

-Why I thought the story was important in on What does your voice show?

– In general, the first thing that comes up is who is interested in this and why. My idea was to install my voice on The reason I was interested in telling this story. I’ve been saying that ever since it came to my attention. I’ve always had great personal and political connections with Chileans and wanted to get into the history a little bit. In other films I usually don’t use my voice onBut it was a complicated topic, as we had to justify why we were telling this. So, I wanted to do it from my own perspective and experience, which is also honestly why I decided to make this film.