Chile
INDUSTRY INFORMATION
The Chilean film and TV scene is improving. Ten years ago, the country turned out about five features a year; last year, 20 films were produced. The Arts and Audiovisual Industry Council handle most of the matters related to the Film industry in Chile but also supports the recently formed CINEMA CHILE. This organization was formed to help globalize the production and postproduction of the Chilean audiovisual industry and also has the support of APCT (Filmmaking and Television Producers Association), Corfo Sectorial Brands, Corfo Innova, ProChile and the Accion Audiovisual of Universidad Catolica.
In regards to Locations, Chile in many ways is like California: breathtaking arid deserts, world-class vineyards, a robust surf scene and the beauty of the Andes. Santiago, its capital, is similar to Los Angeles — a smog-covered city in the lowlands surrounded by dramatic mountain peaks. Chile doesn’t have the Third World trappings of most other Central or South American countries, with their extremes of poverty and crime; the country is quite modern and safe. It has state-of-the-art preproduction, production and postproduction facilities, including modern equipment and advanced technologies however: The crew base is not deep, and though there are several TV soundstages, there is no studio space for film. The country got a taste of Hollywood-style location filming when it hosted “Quantum of Solace” in the northern desert regions.
Tax Incentives: Cinema Chile, is lobbying Congress to implement a sorely needed tax incentive program to boost domestic production and make Chile a more attractive filming location.
Film Commissions: ProChile – Patricio Parraguez, www.chileinfo.com
Passport/Visa requirements: Passports are required from most major countries.
TOPOGRAPHY, WEATHER, TRANSPORTATION & MAIN CITIES
Topography: Chile’s territorial shape is among the worlds most unusual. It is divided into three general topographic regions: the lofty Andean cordillera on the east; the low coastal mountains of the west; and the fertile central valley between. The Andes, occupying from one-third to the entire width of the country, stretch from the Puna de Atacama in the north, a high plateau with peaks averaging 4,600 m (15,000 ft), to middle Chile, where, on the border with Argentina, rises the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, Aconcagua (6,960 m/22,834 ft), and then, diminishing in height, run south into the Chilean lake country, with its snow-capped volcanoes and several passes. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The coastal range, verging from 300 to 2,100 m (1,000 to 7,000 ft) in height, rises from the sea along most of the coast. In the extreme north, the coastal mountains join with the Andean spurs to form a series of plateaus separated by deep gorge like valleys. In the south, the valleys and the coastal range plunge into the sea and form a western archipelago; fjords reach into the range at about 42°S. The central valley, an irregular alluvial plain 965 km (600 mi) long, 73 km (45 mi) wide at its maximum, and up to 1,200 m (4,000 ft) high, begins below the arid Atacama Desert of the north and ends at Puerto Montt in the south. Fertile between the Aconcagua and Bío-Bío rivers, this valley is the center of agriculture and of population. Although some 30 rivers rise in the Andes and descend to the Pacific, cascades and great waterfalls severely limit navigation; the ocean itself facilitates transportation between the different regions of this narrow country.
The northern side of the Strait of Magellan, part of Patagonia (a region shared by Chile and Argentina), and part of the island of western Tierra del Fuego (divided between Chile and Argentina) is low, glaciated, morainal country.
The same telluric displacements that created the Peru-Chile Trench make the country highly prone to earthquakes. During the 20th century, Chile has been struck by twenty-eight major earthquakes, all with a force greater than 6.9 on the Richter scale. The strongest of these occurred in 2010 (registering an estimated 8.8 on the Richter scale.)
Weather: Seasons are the reverse of those of Europe and United States: Spring: 22nd September – 21st December Summer: 22nd December – 21st March Autumn: 22nd March – 21st June Winter: 22nd June – 21st September. The climate of Chile comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale, extending across 38 degrees in latitude, making generalizations difficult. Chile within its borders hosts at least seven major climatic subtypes, ranging from desert in the north, to alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and southeast, humid subtropical in Easter Island, Oceanic in the south and Mediterranean climate in central Chile.
In the north, the Atacama Desert is the driest non-Arctic place on Earth, and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by the Chilean Coast Range. The climate of Central Chile is of temperate Mediterranean type, with the amount of rainfall increasing considerably and progressively from north to south. In the Santiago area, the average monthly temperatures are about 19.5 °C in the summer months of January and February and 7.5 °C in the winter months of June and July. The average monthly precipitation is no more than a trace in January and February and 69.7 millimeters in June and July.
Transportation: Transport in Chile is mostly by road. The south of the country is not connected to central Chile by road, except through Argentina, and water transport also plays a part there. The railways were historically important in Chile, but now play a relatively small part in the country’s transport system. Because of the country’s geography and long distances between major cities, aviation is also important.
Santiago has a very modern transport infrastructure, including the steadily growing underground Santiago Metro, an effort at modernizing public bus transport and a free flow toll-based ring road and inner city highway system, part of which is tunneled underneath a large section of the city’s main river Mapocho connecting the Eastern and Western extremes of the city in a 25-minute drive. The metro in Santiago is South America’s most extensive and modern metro system with 5 lines, 94 stations and 119.3 km kilometres of track making it the second longest in Latin America after that of Mexico City. The other cities with a metro system are Valparaiso & Concepcion. Taxicabs are common in Santiago and are painted black with yellow roofs and have orange license plates. So-called radiotaxis may be called up by telephone and can be any make, model, or color but should always have the orange plates.
Main Cities:
Santiago: The capital and largest city of Chile and the fifth largest city in South America, it is located in the country’s central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706.04 ft) above sea level. Although Santiago is the capital, legislative bodies meet in the coastal town of Valparaíso, a one-hour drive to its west. Chile’s steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into one of Latin America’s most modern metropolitan areas, with extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping centers, and impressive high-rise architecture. Santiago is the regional headquarters to many multinationals, and a financial center.
The city lies in the centre of the Santiago Basin, a large bowl-shaped valley consisting of a broad and fertile plain surrounded by mountains. It is flanked by the main chain of the Andes on the east and the Chilean Coastal Range on the west. On the north, it is bound by the Cordón de Chacabuco, a transverse mountain range of the Andes, whereas at the southern border lies Angostura de Paine, where an elongated spur of the Andes almost reaches the Coastal Range. Only 60 km away from the city center are the main South American ski centers, and the beautiful beaches of the Pacific are only an hour’s drive to the northwest. Just south of Santiago lie the rich and beautiful vineyards of the Maipo Valley, one of the world’s most esteemed wine producing regions.
The very heart of Santiago is the Plaza de Armas, which lies along the Alameda about five blocks south of the river. The city’s European heritage is evident in the Parque Forestal, designed by a French landscaper on the model of Parisian parks.
Concepción: As the second largest city, Concepción is one of the most active cities in Chilean rock music and many famous rock groups in Chile started up in Concepción. Concepción has the second largest concentration of universities in Chile, and is home to three major universities.
Due to earthquakes, the city has been rebuilt at various times. You won’t see colonial buildings clustered around a central plaza, but you will see a modern city and port supported by the coal, steel, petrol-chemical, and fishing industries. Associated with the nearby port of Talcahuano, Conce is a vital part of the Lake Region. The people of Concepción are proud of their role in Chile’s political, economic and cultural growth.
Valparaíso: The third largest metropolitan area in Chile, it takes this name after the city of Valparaíso, the oldest city of the group and one of the country’s most important seaports as well as an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. Built upon dozens of steep hillsides overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Valparaíso boasts a labyrinth of streets and cobblestone alleyways, embodying a rich architectural and cultural legacy with an unusual system of funicular elevators (highly-inclined cable cars).
The whole area is broken down to the municipalities of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Concón, Quilpué and Villa Alemana. Valparaíso, Viña del Mar and Concón are coastal cities and have traditionally concentrated industrial and commercial activities. Villa Alemana and Quipué are located in inner valleys and belong to the group of cities known as El Interior which are primarily residential, and therefore often considered bedroom communities. Viña del Mar is best known as a tourist and beach destination with multiple beaches. One of its key attractions are a gambling casino and a yearly music festival, Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar (Spanish: “Viña del Mar International Song Festival”)
PEOPLE, CULTURE & SAFETY
People: Chilean people are natives of and long-term immigrants to Chile. Chileans are mainly of Spanish and Amerindian descent with significant degrees of 19th and 20th century European immigrant ancestry. There is a strong correlation between Chilean people’s ancestry or ethnicity and socioeconomic situation: a marked continuum between the lower classes of high Amerindian ancestry and the upper classes of mainly European ancestry. Indigenous in heritage (cultural or genetic) is most visible in rural areas and in aspects of culture such as Chilean cuisine and Chilean Spanish. Although post-independence immigrants never made up more than 2% of the population there are now hundreds of thousands of Chileans with German, Croatian, Italian or Palestinian ancestry. At the 2002 census, only indigenous people that still practiced a native culture or spoke a native language were surveyed: 4.6% of the population fit that description; of these, 87.3% declared themselves Mapuche, although most show varying degrees of mixed ancestry.
Chile is an overwhelmingly Spanish speaking country, with the exceptions of isolated native and immigrant communities. There are nine languages living, with several of them endangered and seven extinct. It is sometimes difficult for foreigners to understand due to the dropping of final syllables and ‘s’ sounds, the very soft pronunciation of some consonants and the high levels of slang employed.
Culture: The folk culture of Chile has mostly Spanish origins, especially the Huaso culture of the central part of the country, as it arose in the colonial period due to cattle ranching. It could therefore be considered an offshoot of Spanish popular culture of the 17th and 18th centuries similar to the folk cultures of the rest of Latin America and also, its direct descendents, Andalusia and Castilian folk cultures. The Andalusia forms in the Huaso dress is apparent to Europeans and the music and dances show Spanish origins, even though both have been adapted and are distinct from dress, music and dance in Spain today.
Nueva Canción movement in modern Chilean folk culture is adapted from the folk music of the north, not of the brass bands but of the panpipes and quenas. The traditional Chilean folk music of the Huasos were also popularized, particularly the tonadas, folk songs sung with a guitar, mainly on the topics of love. Several folk groups became famous nationwide.
Chile’s most famous contributions to literature have come from Nobel Prize poets Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral, whose homes and birthplaces are now museums that attract literary pilgrims to Chile.
Safety: Chile is one of the safest countries to visit in Latin America. Travelers can move about freely without taking major precautions. They should, like everywhere in the world, avoid marginalized neighborhoods in the big cities and be careful in the city centers. Chile has a low rate of violent crimes. However, it is possible to become a victim of theft or pick pocketing.