City for the dead (2017)

Micro-documentary about the Cementerio General in Santiago, Chile. Our narrator is actor and guide Cristián Niedbalski, who speaks passionately about the beauty he encounters every day in the vast necropolis.

As well as being a trove of Chilean art and architecture, Santiago’s so-called “city for the dead” is an unmistakable reflection of the metropolis that surrounds it. Rows of opulent, mansion-like mausoleums delineate the wealthiest neighbourhoods, which contrast with cramped, multi-storey “coffin apartment blocks” across town.

Despite its enormous size (estimates range from two to five million burials to date), Niedbalski is moved most by the intimate details hidden throughout the cemetery. “Every day I discover new stories”, he says.