The Pinochet Dictatorship Forty Years On. Implications for Australia.
RMIT Radio Theatre, 11 September @ 18:00
This event, planned in commemoration of the military coup that took place on 11 September 1973, offers personal, artistic and legal perspectives around an ongoing case involving Adriana Rivas. Rivas was an active member of Augusto Pinochet's secret police, and while under investigation in Chile, fled to Australia where she lived undercover for some years. Australia's Chilean community began putting pressure on the government to extradite her to Chile. The case is ongoing.
The film that kicks off the event, Adriana's Pact (2017), is a documentary about Rivas made by her niece, Lissette Orozco, who explores this case as a family matter. Adriana's Pact has screened in a number of internationally renowned festivals and won many prizes. Apart from a screening in The Latin American Film Festival in Sydney, it has not been publicly shown in Australia. It will be the first time that Melbourne audiences can see this film.
We are in touch with the director, Lissette Orozco, who agreed to introduce her film on Skype.
There will be a panel discussion after the screening with participants, who share insights into this case from different angles.
| Pilar Aguilera | Chilean activist and representative of the NGO National Campaign for truth and justice |
| Adriana Navarro | Sydney-based attorney who legally represents the Chilean community in the case of extradition |
| Florencia Melgar | SBS investigative journalist. Florencia's exposé of the hidden life of Adriana Rivas was awarded the 2019 New York Gold Award for the Best Investigative Report |
| Claudia Sandberg | Filmmaker and specialist in Latin American film, School of Languages and Linguistics at the University of Melbourne |
When: September 11, 2019 at 6pm
Where: RMIT Radio Theatre, Building 9, Level 1, Room 124 Located on the corner of Franklin and Bowen streets, across from the City Baths, the building is easily reached from Swanston Street. Catch a City Loop train to Melbourne Central train station or to Flinders Street, from where you can take a connecting City Loop train or Yarra Tram along Swanston Street.Trams running along Swanston Street include routes 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 16, 64, 67 and 72.
There will be an interview with the organizers of the event broadcast on Community Radio 3cr (855am digital) on a programme "Completada Bailable" on 4 September at 18.30 pm. This will be in Spanish.
For more information about the case Adriana Rivas, see:
- Ex-intelligence agent Adriana Rivas denies torture claims
- Exclusive Interview with Adriana Rivas: SBS Spanish
This is a collaborative event between the School of Languages and Linguistics with the VCA and the School of Media and Communication at RMIT.
For more information, please contact:
Claudia Sandberg: claudia.sandberg@unimelb.edu.au
Antonio Castillo: antonio.castillo@rmit.edu.au
Emanuel Rodriguez: emanuelr@student.unimelb.edu.au