The Circle of Journalists of Santiago hosted the presentation of "The Dialogue of the Americas," a documentary that records a memorable conversation between Chilean President Salvador Allende and Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro.

Occurring in 1971 at the Tomás Moro presidential residence, the meeting was led by journalist Augusto Olivares, and there Allende and Fidel addressed dissimilar topics such as the revolutionary processes in each of their countries, advances and challenges, the participation of the working class, and the threats of imperialism and the oligarchy.

Directed by Chilean filmmaker Álvaro Covacevich, the film was presented last night and is one of four being screened here as part of a cycle dedicated to his filmography.

"There are films that are simply screened and others that, with the passage of time, become documents of an era. The work of Álvaro Covacevich belongs to the latter category," the organizers said.

Participating in the debate after the presentation, a member of the audience highlighted the relevance of this film that reinstates two Latin American leaders of world stature.

Fidel, whose centennial of his birth is being celebrated this year, is an inspiration for all those who think of a better world, and Allende, in addition to being a politician, played a fundamental role in Chile's public health development, he recalled.

Asked by Prensa Latina about the film's reception, Covacevich described the reception it has had as wonderful and said that it once again confirms its relevance.

The filmmaker covered Fidel's entire trip, who remained in Chile for three weeks, traveled through the north, center and south, and visited factories, mines and universities.

"It was a great moment for me personally as a filmmaker to be able to follow a figure of this level and reach these meetings so close and almost familial," he said.

The Dialogue of the Americas had its world premiere in Paris in April 1972 as a testimony to the process that was taking place in Chile, and the poet Pablo Neruda and French mime Marcel Marceau attended its presentation.

The cycle on the director, screenwriter and producer Álvaro Covacevich began with Morir un poco (1966); continued with New Love (1968) and will conclude with El gran desafío (1973), a documentary that records Allende's trip through Mexico, Algeria, the former Soviet Union, the United States and Cuba.