Ignacio Agüero is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and producer. He has also acted in films, including some directed by Raul Ruiz. Agüero was one of the directors of the 1988 "No" political television advertisements that contributed to the end of Pinochet's reign.

Agüero was born in Santiago, Chile in 1952. He studied cinema at the Universidad Católica de Chile, immediately after the military coup of Pinochet, a time during which many Chilean filmmakers left the country in exile. Under these conditions of isolation and repression, he made his first documentary film, semi-clandestinely, about the discovery of the bodies of 15 farm workers whose recognition proved for the first time that the missing detainees had been murdered by agents of the state.

He remained in Chile during the entire period of the dictatorship working as a director for advertising spots, as a filmmaker contributor of the visual artists from the C.A.D.A. group, and making independent documentary films. His feature 100 Children Waiting for A Train, a poetic portrait of a children's film workshop in Santiago, was produced in partnership with Channel 4 UK, and was presented with the Grierson Award at the 1989 American Film & Video Festival, among other international prizes. The film was censored by the dictatorship in Chile.

He served as the first president of the Documentary Filmmaker's Association of Chile, of which he is a founding member. Retrospectives of Agüero's body of work have been held in Santiago, Lima, and the prestigious Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival (BAFICI).

Icarus Films is proud to distribute four films by Ignacio Agüero. Discover more of our featured filmmakers.