THE CRITICAL ROOM: UPRISING AND IDENTITY POLITICS IN A POLARIZED LATIN AMERICA

Santiago de Chile, 2019. An increase in public transport fares was the spark that set off nationwide protests and riots. MY IMAGINARY COUNTRY depicts the time after the riots, and after the screening we contextualize the film through a conversation about uprising and identity politics in Latin America. 

Professor at the Center for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo, Benedicte Bull, meets Diego Fernando Marin Dios from Attac Norway and author and professor of Latin American literature, Maria Soledad Marambio Castro, for a conversation about identity politics and popular mobilization in Latin America: Is it is it possible to carry out sustained changes in the political institutions in countries where the people have fundamental distrust of governance and politicians?

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Panelists

• Benedicte Bull is a political scientist and professor at the Center for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo. She has researched Latin America society and politics for a number of years, and published a number of books and articles on Latin American politics and economics.
• Diego Marin Rios works in Attac Norway as a political advisor. He has experience both as daily manager and advisor from Latin-Amerikagruppene, and has been head of the Support Group for Peace in Colombia. Attac Norway is a party-politically independent organization that works for a democratically rooted economy. Internationally, Attac is established in all continents and has over 85,000 members in 48 countries.
• Maria Soledad Marambio Castro is a writer, filmmaker and researcher of Latin American literature. Her texts have been published in Granta, Birmingham Poetry Review and Word Without Borders.
  

About the film

Director Guzmán arrives in Chile one year after the riots start, and through a personal and poetic narrative he paints the picture of a country on fire. He lets the people tell their story, and places particular emphasis on the voice of women. Common to all is the rage and indignation, but equally clear is the love for the country. Raising your voice becomes a matter of course and a necessity when the goal is to build a democratic nation.

Practical information

• The film screening of MY IMAGINARY COUNTRY starts at 17.30.
• The conversation after the screening will be in English.

The Critical Room

The Critical Room (TCR) is our forum for debate and conversation. We invite exciting guests from both Norway and abroad to discuss topics that are highlighted in both documentaries and fiction films. This year we are showing five films in the TCR section, each of which in its own way addresses current social issues and problems related to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.