Tocopilla Soccer Film Festival honors documentary narrating the origin of women’s soccer in the Aymara community

The awards ceremony for the Tocopilla Soccer Film Festival Shorts Competition was held at Museo de la Moda, and brought together a multitude of people from the worlds of sports and culture. At the event, awards were given in the following categories: General, University Student, High School Student, Social Media and Tocopilla. The recipient in the last category was awarded a trip for two to Milan to watch Alexis Sanchez play soccer.

Meanwhile, Macarena Denisse won first place in the general category with the piece “Rayando la Cancha,” a documentary narrating the life of a group of women of all ages from Alto Hospicio, considered “the city with the worst quality of life in Chile,” as they quietly organize a soccer league to break up the weekly work and domestic routine.

“This short documentary immerses us in the history of the Andean League. Through Raquel Medina and her mother Celia Pacha, we learn about the origin of the women’s and family soccer organization in the Aymara community,” says the director, a filmmaker from Buenos Aires who aspired to document this feminine rite and the story of some Aymara women who find a wellness ritual in sports.

The Tocopilla category went to “Siempre estaré contigo” by the Carlos Condell School. Thanks to a simple but touching story, the plot is moving. “It’s the story of four friends who love soccer and meet a girl at school and decide to invite her to be part of their team. Then come many surprises and great twists and turns,” says Andrés Riveros, the teacher who guided the students at this school in the heart of Tocopilla, where 85% of its 515 enrolled students are considered at risk.

“For SQM it is an honor to be part of this festival and to see how the children and young people of Tocopilla begin to develop their audiovisual talents. Undoubtedly, this successful second version of the event recognizes talented national directors and emerging creative minds from Tocopilla who are highlighting the importance of its people and history,” commented Manuel Ossandón, Head of Communities for SQM’s Nitrates Iodine division.

The categories “University Student” and “High School Student” went to Vicente Yunge and the Arturo Prat School, respectively. The young film student from Universidad del Desarrollo made the short film “Carlos“, which tells the story of a cab driver who makes a living by picking up passengers at the Santiago airport. However, in a conversation about his favorite soccer team with a random passenger, he ends up reflecting on memories and feelings shared with Jorge, his beloved older brother, who had to leave Chile many years ago because of the political situation in the country. “El Último Penal” is set in a northern school where a boy is always left out on the soccer field. The comical, sharp plot focuses on his parents, his “unconditional fans,” who suffer every time the final whistle blows and Joselito has not touched the ball.

Finally, the Social Media category went to Palesniños, which is not only a play on words, but also León Ulloa Haddad’s idea for talking about the club he loves: Palestino. “Just as we are all someone’s children, we were all children once. It is an inevitable part of our lives. For this reason, León joined forces with the club and some very good friends to examine the world of soccer from the eyes of a nine-year-old. Why do you like your team? What cartoons did you watch? Did you parents scold you a lot? Were you a good student?.

These questions are as simple as they are fundamental, ones we rarely ask ourselves and that today arise from Palesniños,” says his father Rodrigo Ulloa, who joined his son in receiving the award for Palesniños from Ivo Colombo, SQM’s Nitrates and Iodine Planning and Logistics Manager, who said that “For SQM it is very important to be part of this initiative and, somehow, when different organizations come together—in this case the CChC Cultural Corporation, the artists and SQM—we can build culture, society and country. We are a Chilean company that goes out to the world, we are a company from Tocopilla, which has also been built with the effort of many people. So to be part of this initiative and to be invited to collaborate is a tremendous joy for us.”

The Tocopilla Soccer Film Festival is an invitation from SQM that is produced by the CChC Cultural Corporation and qualifies for the Cultural Donations Law.