Join the Institute for Policy Studies and the Letelier Theater for this special screening of Nostalgia For The Light, preceded by rich cultural performances. This event is a fitting lead-up to IPS’ annual Letelier Moffitt Human Rights Awards ceremony on October 12th, the following week.

For his new film, master director Patricio Guzmán, famed for his political documentaries capturing the history and politics of Chile (The Battle Of Chile, Salvador Allende, The Pinochet Case), travels 10,000 feet above sea level to the driest place on earth. Atop the mountains of the Atacama Desert, astronomers from all over the world gather to observe the stars. The sky is so translucent that it allows them to see right to the boundaries of the universe. The Atacama Desert is also a place where the harsh heat of the sun keeps human remains intact: those of Pre-Columbian mummies; 19th century explorers and miners; and the remains of political prisoners, “disappeared” by the Chilean army after the military coup of September 11, 1973.

So while astronomers examine the most distant and oldest galaxies, at the foot of the mountains, women, surviving relatives of the disappeared whose bodies were dumped here, search, even after thirty-five years, for the remains of their loved ones, to reclaim their families’ histories. Melding the celestial quest of the astronomers and the earthly one of the Chilean women, Nostalgia For The Light is a gorgeous, moving, and deeply personal odyssey.

Pre-screening features:

• A reception with light fare.
• A performance by Son Cosita Seria, a DC-based musical group made up of students of Son Jarocho music from Veracruz, Mexico, who use music to support struggles for social justice.
• Poetry by Mario Escobar, a poet and social justice organizer.

Admission is $17.50. Purchase tickets here.

IPS would like to thank the official distributor of Nostalgia For The Light, Icarus Films for thier support of this event. All proceeds go to support the work of the Institute for Policy Studies.