Patricio Guzmán, the Chilean documentary-maker celebrated for chronicling the impact of Augusto Pinochet's 1973 coup, has died aged 85 in Paris following a cardiorespiratory arrest, according to Chilean outlet Emol. His work, most notably the landmark trilogy The Battle of Chile, offered an unflinching yet poetic account of the overthrow of elected president Salvador Allende and its long aftermath, earning him international acclaim as one of the defining chroniclers of his country's political trauma.

Born in Chile in 1941, Guzmán trained in film in Chile and Madrid before returning home to document the turbulent years following Allende's 1970 election. Completed in exile with support from French film-maker Chris Marker, The Battle of Chile was released in three parts between 1975 and 1979, and included harrowing footage of a cameraman being shot dead; his colleague Jorge Müller was later tortured and disappeared. Guzmán went on to make further works examining Chile's past, including The Pinochet Case, the metaphysical trilogy beginning with Nostalgia for the Light, and his final film, My Imaginary Country, about the 2019 protests.