In the heart of Santiago in the early 2000s, Francisco Hervé captures a transformation that goes far beyond the urban surface. The Power of the Word (El Poder de la Palabra) creates a record of the decline of street vendors in the face of Transantiago’s arrival, allowing for the exploration of ideas such as dignity, organization, and the metamorphosis of popular identity before the rise of modernity and progress.
Through the figure of Hardy Vallejos, the documentary shows how precarity confronts institutionality not just with demands, but with a paradigm shift: the adoption of a corporate image and a convincing rhetoric as tools for survival. With an honesty that avoids a mournful tone, the direction ensures that what begins as a labor struggle ends up being an intimate portrait of the change in its protagonists’ mindset.
Recognized with the Special Jury Prize at the Santiago International Documentary Festival (FIDOCS) and the Movie City Award at the Valdivia International Film Festival, as well as being crowned Best Documentary at the Viña del Mar International Film Festival, this work is a fundamental piece of our cinematography to understand the frictions that still persist in Chilean society.
Available on CNTV Play