Cinema Tropical presents A PROMISE TO THE DEAD

A PROMISE TO THE DEAD
(New York Premiere)
Dir. Peter Raymont
Canada, 2006, 92 min, Documentary
In English and Spanish with English subtitles

"My first September 11th had been in 1973, when terror was also inflicted on the innocent, when death also rained down from the sky, sending me into exile, making me into the man I have now become." - Ariel Dorfman

On September 11, 1973, Chile's military attacked its government. As the coup took hold, the democratically elected president Salvador Allende called government members to the presidential palace to stand against their attackers, facing certain death. Ariel Dorfman was Allende's cultural advisor, and should have been called too; he later discovered his name had been struck from the list so he could live to tell what happened that day. Three decades later, Dorfman is an internationally respected writer and human rights activist, winner of the Sir Laurence Olivier Award for the play "Death and the Maiden." Filmmaker Peter Raymont travels to Chile with Dorfman in late 2006, at the time when Augusto Pinochet, Allende's overthrower and Dorfman's long-time nemesis, is dying. Raymont follows Dorfman through emotional reunions with his friends and fellow resistors, to personal landmarks that are powerful both emotionally and historically. During the journey they explore exile, memory and the search for justice.
Presented in association with the International Center for Transitional Justice.

Showtimes:
OPENING NIGHT: Fri, June 13, 6:30pm. Discussion with Ariel & Rodrigo Dorfman, filmmaker and reception to follow
Wed, June 18, 1:30pm

All screenings at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center

Tickets for the 2008 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival are available at both the Walter Reade Theater box office (212) 875-5600 and online at www.filmlinc.com