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What Is to Be Done? Que Hacer?

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A Film about Chile in 1970

1970, Chile. U.S. Director Nina Serrano and Argentine cameraman, Gustavo Moris, during the production of What is to be Done? Que Hacer a film about Chile.
1970, Chile. U.S. Director Nina Serrano and Argentine cameraman, Gustavo Moris, during the production of What is to be Done? a film about Chile.

Nina Serrano co-directed Que Hacer with Saul Landau and Raul Ruis.  The film, co-produced by James Beckett and Saul Landau, won the Venice Film Festival prize for Directing. It was filmed on location in Chile during the historic Salvador Allende election campaign of 1970. At the time, Nina was one of the few women film directors.

What is to Be Done?/Que Hacer? is a spy story

What is to Be Done?/Que Hacer? is a spy story-musical feature film that weaves documentary coverage of the Allende election with a fictional story foreshadows the turmoil afterwards.   This fast-moving story of political intrigue involves a young woman Peace Corps worker, played by the late Sandra Archer, who becomes involved with a mysterious American ‘businessman’ played by Richards Stahl and at the same time with a Chilean revolutionary played by Pablo de la Barra.

1970, Santiago de Chile. Chilean Street Demonstration during the Salvador Allende Presidential Campaign. James Beckett filming in the foreground.
1970, Santiago de Chile. Chilean Street Demonstration during the Salvador Allende Presidential Campaign. James Beckett filming in the foreground.

It was a great sorrow and shock for the U.S. film crew to learn after the coup that so many of the Chilean film crew and actors were being jailed, tortured and exiled.  The film became part of the world solidarity movement in support of  Chilean democracy and against the CIA backed coup.  

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