Bastard. The Legacy of Pinochet’s Genocide

(Bastardo. La herencia de un genocida)

Pepe Rovano / Chile, Italy, Sweden / 2023 / 83 min
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  • Havana Film Festival

  • FICViña Viña del Mar Int'l Film Festival

  • Trieste Ibero-American Film Festival

  • FIDBA Buenos Aires Int'l Documentary Film Festival

  • Santiago International Film Festival

  • Millenium Documentary Film Festival

  • Quilpé Chilean Film Festival

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Synopsis

Spanish with English subtitles

With Pepe Rovano, Josefina Rovano, Verónica Rovano, Rodrigo Retamal, Frine Salas, Javiera Retamal, Berta Manríquez, Isolda Torres, Nahuel Salvador Díaz, Gonzalo Díaz, Magdalena Garcés, Rodolfo Gárate, Mariela Torres, Antonieta Oyanguren, Alexander Castillo, Miguel Antonio Muñoz, Daniela Alcaide, Leandro Silva

At 35, director Navarrete Rovano, who had grown up fatherless and labeled a “bastard,” discovered his father was Colonel Rodrigo Retamal, a notorious Chilean police chief involved in human rights abuses. This revelation sparked a 13-year journey to confront his father and meet the families torn apart by the regime’s brutality, as he struggled to reconcile with his dark inheritance.
Amid the backdrop of Chile’s 2019 social unrest, his personal journey evolved into activism, and he became a key figure in the movement that ultimately led to the drafting of a new constitution—marking a pivotal moment in Chile’s fight to end the long-standing impunity of its corrupt establishment.
Related Subjects
About the Director
Pepe Rovano is an acclaimed Chilean film director, journalist, and researcher known for his socially driven documentaries and innovative use of immersive technology. He holds a PhD. in Interdisciplinary Studies on Thought, Culture, and Society (University of Valparaíso), currently working as an academic and researcher in the Digital Animation program at the Faculty of Architecture, Communication, and Design at the University of Viña del Mar. He was recently selected as a tutor for REAL 2025 – the documentary film academy of the Locarno International Film Festival (Switzerland).

Pepe Rovano - Bastard

Available for Q&As, Masterclasses, and workshops upon request, in English or Spanish.
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Rovano’s international filmography includes the award-winning L’eco della Bici (Italy, 2006). Other titles are Tawantinsuyo (Peru, 2006), Tres pasos para el retorno (Spain, 2009), and Ada (Italy, 2012).

He produced and directed the documentary series Sin Fronteras (La Red, 2017–2018). In 2018, he received the Chilean Ministry of Culture’s Artistic Development for Memory and Human Rights grant for his extended reality project Memorial Rocas XR. His work blends science, memory, and new media technologies. His immersive experiences include Biorremedición VR, Espectrales VR, and a VR360° series on the Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games.

Bastard. The Legacy of Pinochet’s Genocide (2023) is his most recent documentary. It premiered at 15 international film festivals and has been praised for its bold confrontation of historical trauma.

As the founder and director of Totoral Films & Media Lab in Viña del Mar, Rovano continues to explore the intersection of XR, AI, and environmental and cultural storytelling.

In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Rovano holds a Master’s in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Ferrara (Italy) and a Journalism degree from Diego Portales University (Chile). He has been a research fellow at the University of Lugano (Switzerland).

Press

“Bastard is emblematic of the profound trauma that generations of Chileans continue to process.” – Juan Marín, Culturizarte

Notes on the Film

“It is difficult for me to talk about this story, my story. I grew up with my mother, without a father. A bastard.

At the age of 35, I found my father and discovered that he had murdered political opponents during the dictatorship in Chile. The illegitimate son of a police chief during the Pinochet dictatorship, I embarked on a 14-year-long journey to find and confront him. I filmed every moment.

During this trip, I searched for and met the children of my father’s victims. I also looked for and met my peers whose fathers committed murders on behalf of the regime.

My experience evolved into a project to recover memory, truth, and justice in a country unable to deal with its dark past, where most political crimes are still unpunished. Impunity has been granted to most of them. This is a story of betrayal for some, of nobility for others.”

– Jose Luis Navarrete Rovano, Director

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