THE ETERNAL MEMORY tells a profound and moving love story that balances vibrant individual and collective remembrance with the longevity of an unbreakable human bond. Augusto and Paulina have been together and in love for 25 years. Eight years ago, their lives were forever changed by Augusto’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As one of Chile’s most prominent cultural commentators and television presenters, Augusto is no stranger to building an archive of memory. Now he turns that work to his own life, trying to hold on to his identity with the help of his beloved Paulina, whose own pre-eminence as a famous actress and Chilean Minister of Culture predates her ceaselessly inventive manner of engaging with her husband. Day by day, the couple face this challenge head-on, relying on the tender affection and sense of humor shared between them that remains, remarkably, fully intact. THE ETERNAL MEMORY was the winner of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary in 2023. Oscar nominated director Maite Alberdi (The Mole Agent) joins us for a conversation on her first encounter with Paulina and Augusto together and how seeing the fully integrated lives they were living inspired her, watching them embrace the withering psychological, emotional and physically journey they were both on, and the connected themes of love, compassion, empathy and devotion that The Mole Agent and The Eternal Memory share.
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About the filmmaker – An Academy Award® Nominated Director and Producer, Maite Alberdi is the first Chilean woman to be nominated for an Oscar®. She has developed a particular style that is characterized by the intimate portrayal of small worlds and her unique approach has led her to become one of the most important voices in Latin American documentary. In 2011, she released her first feature film, THE LIFEGUARD. Through Micromundo, her production company, Maite directed her second film, TEA TIME (La Once), which has won more than a dozen international awards and was nominated for the 2016 Goya for Best Ibero-American Film. In 2016, she released the short film I AM NOT FROM HERE, which was nominated for the European Film Awards, and she also premiered her third feature film, THE GROWN-UPS, which received 10 international awards. In Sundance 2020, she premiered THE MOLE AGENT, the first Chilean documentary to be nominated for an Academy Award®. Her latest film, THE ETERNAL MEMORY premiered at Sundance 2023, where it won the Grand Jury Award for World Cinema Documentary, and had its international premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
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“Balances personal reflection and historical consciousness……the warm, gentle touch of Alberdi’s filmmaking” – Variety
“A beautiful and affecting love story.” Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
“An intimate, understated and often wrenching portrayal” – Screen
“Witnessing the grief Augusto has for his own life and Pauli for their life together is absolutely heartbreaking. Yet, one will walk away longing for the type of love they have been so fortunate to experience in this lifetime if only for a moment.” – Carla Renata, The Curvy Film Critic
“Get tissues ready to witness one of the most selfless and patient forms of love that graced our screens, shared and magnified through pockets of joy that Alberdi’s camera celebrates with a generous side of empathy and sense of humor.” – Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar
“A moving chronicle” – The Hollywood Reporter
“Could any film completely capture such a private dynamic? Surely not, but at moments, “The Eternal Memory” appears to come close.” – Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times
“Perhaps the greatest feat of the courageous The Eternal Memory is Alberdi, Góngora and Urrutia’s ability to broach the subject with an emphasis on life, not death.” – Aurora Amidon, Paste Magazine