Grants & Awards
City of the Caesars
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Nonfiction
Date Awarded: Summer 2011
Directors(s): Francisco Hervé
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Producer(s): Francisco Hervé, Paola Saavedra
Company Credit: Panchito Films
Location: Chile
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Film Status: In Development
About the Film:
In Patagonia, on the very edge of the world, two ordinary men from radically different backgrounds and driven by radically different motivations mount separate offensives to preserve their treasured way of life. One is Jonathan, a young American who fell in love with Patagonia and is now actively opposing the construction of five huge powerplants, built by a Spanish-Italian international corporation and supported by local authorities who stand accused of corruption. The other is Rolf, the Chilean-born son of German immigrants, who is undertaking an expedition to find the mythical City of the Caesars—the golden metropolis that lured generations of conquistadors to South America—in hopes that by finding it, he can keep it from falling into foreign hands. Our documentary tells the epic stories of these ordinary men, and through them— through their very real enemies and the conspiracy theories that surround them— explores the idea of Patagonia as the new City of the Caesars, a place where wealth, mystery and purity fascinate and confound the contemporary conquerors of our globalized world.
About the Filmmakers:
Francisco Hervé (Director, Producer) graduated as a journalist in Chile, then as a filmmaker from the International Film and Television School (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba. His last documentary film The Power of Speech was selected for the First Appearance IDFA competition, was awarded at festivals including Valdivia and FIDOCS, and received the 2010 Altazor in Chile. He created and directed the fake-documentary series Citizen K for Chilean television and took part in several documentary series. In fiction his short film Play it Again Evaristo obtained the Best Screenplay prize in Poitiers, among other recognitions. In 2007 he created the company Panchito Films where he also hosts projects of fellow directors, like María Paz González’s Daughter, released in 2011 and awarded as the Best Documentary Film in FIDOCS. Since 2008, he also teaches, including courses on documentary, fiction and screenwriting.
