Deborah Shaffer • United States • 1989

The struggle of the loved ones of Chile’s disappeared.

General Augusto Pinochet ran one of the most oppressive dictatorships in Latin American history, launching a coup in 1973 and cracking down on political dissent immediately through the forced disappearance of thousands of intellectuals, activists, and ordinary citizens. Women often remained, left to grapple with the absence of their loved ones.

Directed by Academy-Award winning filmmaker Deborah Shaffer, Dance of Hope documents the courageous collective struggle of the wives, mothers and sisters of Chile’s disappeared in their pursuit of truth and justice. Dance of Hope premiered at Sundance, Biarritz, and Valladolid, where it won Best Documentary.