In the nineteenth century, a French adventurer sets off to establish a kingdom in the inhospitable South of Chile, uniting the feared Mapuche under him. The response of the Chilean army is devastating.
Production
Decayed film stock and puppetry that reeks of rot and ambition.
Direction
Atallah's patience turns madness into hypnotic ritual.
Costume
The ridiculous king costume vs. the unforgiving landscape.
Director
Niles Atallah
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Orélie-Antoine de Tounens was a real lawyer who declared himself King of Araucanía and Patagonia in 1860; his 'kingdom' still has pretenders to the throne today.
Director Niles Atallah spent years developing this with Mapuche communities, using their oral histories to reframe a French 'adventure' as Indigenous nightmare.
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