Baisanos

Migration, identity, mobilization, resistance… the political lexicon is deeply intertwined with the world of sports, despite its claim to be apolitical and pacifist. While power struggles sometimes permeate their favorite pastime without them being fully aware of it—doesn’t the saying go that politics affects us whether we care about it or not?—there are times when club supporters embrace and highlight the political dimension of their passion for sports.

The glimpse into the Baisanos supporters' group offered by Francisca and Andrés Khamis Giacoman’s film allows us to fully appreciate the significance of identity embodied by Club Deportivo Palestino. Based in Santiago and competing in the top division of the Chilean professional soccer league, the club was founded by Palestinian exiles in 1920. As a vehicle for the Palestinian diaspora, the club has made a name for itself beyond Latin America, particularly in Palestine; Yasser Arafat even intervened to ensure the club’s survival when it was facing financial difficulties in the early 2000s.

"Gaza resiste, Palestina existe!" The film immerses us in the emotional bond shared by fans whose club embodies the memory of a migratory journey, keeping alive the dream of return. Through a poetic and philosophical narrative that accompanies images capturing the symbolic power of the places, symbols, and chants meticulously prepared by the passionate fans, the film explores this relationship between Chile and Palestine, which plays out both on the field and in the stands. It is thus the past and the present that converge at La Cisterna Stadium, the club’s home field, shaping a certain vision of the future. Baisanos shows us that sports is a space of cultural transmission, where victories and defeats elevate struggles over memory and transnational solidarities."

Mathieu Boivin-Chouinard
Teacher and historian