Daily Archives: 03/12/2011

Last Monday, November 28th, filmmaker Elena Varela filed a lawsuit against the Chilean government for damages due to “political persecution” and “persecution in the media” that occurred while she worked on a documentary about the Mapuche conflict in southern Chile. Specifically, Varela was arrested in 2008 while filming her documentary on the Mapuche struggle and she spent two years in prison before being acquitted of any wrongdoing. During that time Varela says her image was tarnished and 80% of the material she had filmed was taken by the State and never returned. She is suing for more than US$ 1.9 million in damages. Continue reading →