Nostalgia for the Light

Nostalgia for the Light
Directed byPatricio Guzmán
Written byPatricio Guzmán
Produced byRenate Sachse
Starring
  • Gaspar Galaz
  • Lautaro Núñez
  • Luís Henríquez
  • Miguel Lawner
  • Victor González
  • Vicky Saavedra
  • Violeta Berrios
  • George Preston
  • Valentina Rodríguez
CinematographyKatell Djian
Edited by
Music by
  • Miguel Miranda
  • José Miguel Tobar
Distributed byPyramide International (France)
Icarus Films (US)
Release dates
  • May 13, 2010 (2010-05-13) (Cannes)
  • March 17, 2011 (2011-03-17)
Running time
90 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Chile
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • USA
Languages
  • Spanish
  • English
Box office$156,928

Nostalgia for the Light (Spanish: Nostalgia de la luz) is a 2010 documentary film by Patricio Guzmán to address the lasting impacts of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. Guzmán focuses on the similarities between astronomers researching humanity's past, in an astronomical sense, and the struggle of many Chilean women who still search, after decades, for the remains of their relatives executed during the dictatorship. Patricio Guzmán narrates the documentary himself and the documentary includes interviews and commentary from those affected and from astronomers and archeologists.

As a filmmaker, Patricio Guzmán's filmography has focused mostly on the political and social issues that have plagued Chile. He explored Chile under Salvador Allende and his government (Salvador Allende, 2004), and Pinochet's dictatorship and his human rights abuses (see Batalla de Chile (The Battle of Chile trilogy, 1975-1979), Le cas Pinochet (The Pinochet Case, 2001), and others; the latter film deals more so with the aftermath of those human rights abuses).