The struggle for liberation of the people in Latin America in the 1960s/70s was a recurring theme of politically engaged film festivals on both sides of the Wall. The resulting connection between Leipzig, East Berlin and West Berlin is evidenced by the analogue film material of militant cinema from countries like Argentina, Chile or Cuba that is held in the archive of Arsenal Filminstitut and the German Federal Archives today.
Raúl Ruiz was part of the militant cinema movement that put itself in the service of the Chilean Popular Front, but remained an outsider. He employed experiment and irony to dissect social contradictions. In “Abastecimiento”, Ruiz addresses the supply problems under the Unidad Popular government, confronting the views of a woman from a bourgeois background with those of the socialist Minister for Economic Affairs. He follows this with a depiction of the activities of the Juntas de Abastecimiento y Precios (JAP), locally organised committees for the control and just distribution of food and everyday goods. The provocative juxtaposition paints a picture of an impossible dialogue. The film was banned at the time and was believed lost for ages. It was only recently rediscovered. Leipzig was not the place for the feature film director who emigrated to Paris after the military coup, but Ruiz was a frequent guest at the Berlinale Forum.
Florian Wüst
