Nae Pasaran

Nae Pasaran is a feature-length documentary directed by Felipe Bustos Sierra that reconstructs an act of industrial and political solidarity by workers at the Rolls-Royce factory in East Kilbride, Scotland. Between 1974 and 1978, employees refused to service and repair engines intended for Hawker Hunter aircraft operated by the Chilean Air Force. Their action followed the 1973 military coup in Chile and was motivated by opposition to the human-rights abuses associated with Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. The film focuses particularly on four workers—Bob Fulton, John Keenan, Robert Somerville and Stuart Barrie—and places their testimony alongside accounts from people affected by the coup. It also examines the military and political significance of the boycott. The workers' refusal was not presented simply as a workplace dispute: it became a form of international protest that obstructed the maintenance of aircraft used by the Chilean military. The documentary includes testimony from Fernando Rojas Vender, a former chief of the Chilean Air Force, as well as accounts from Chilean victims and witnesses. Nae Pasaran developed from an earlier short film made through the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme. The short was expanded into the 2018 feature, allowing the filmmakers to connect the East Kilbride workers' memories with the wider history of the coup, the dictatorship and Chile's later return to democracy. A significant narrative element is the rediscovery of an engine associated with the boycott. The engine was returned to Scotland and unveiled in 2019 as a public monument at South Lanarkshire College in East Kilbride. The feature was released commercially in the United Kingdom in March 2018 and later issued on DVD. It received prominent television exposure when it was broadcast as the final programme on the first day of the new BBC Scotland channel. The channel rebroadcast it in 2019 and 2020. A Spanish-language version was released in 2019, and the film entered general release in Chile on 6 June that year through Miradoc. Its international festival circulation included the San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival, where it won the Audience Prize. The film was also recognized in the Scottish and British documentary sectors. It won Best Feature at the 2018 British Academy Scotland Awards, while Sierra was shortlisted for Best Director (Factual). The film was shortlisted for Best Documentary at the 2018 British Independent Film Awards. In the United Kingdom, it was reported to have become the most successful Scottish documentary in cinemas at the time of release, a distinction later surpassed by My Old School in 2022. Nae Pasaran therefore functions both as a historical documentary and as a record of a continuing public memory project linking Scottish labor history with Chilean political history.

Nae Pasaran documents the refusal of workers at the Rolls-Royce plant in East Kilbride to service aircraft engines destined for the Chilean Air Force. The action began after the 1973 military coup in Chile, which brought Augusto Pinochet to power and was followed by widespread political repression and human-rights abuses. From 1974 to 1978, the workers declined to work on engines associated with Hawker Hunter aircraft used by Chile's military. The documentary presents this refusal as an act of international labor solidarity rather than an isolated industrial disagreement. The story is carried by the recollections of four workers—Bob Fulton, John Keenan, Robert Somerville and Stuart Barrie—together with accounts from Chileans affected by the coup. The film also includes testimony from Fernando Rojas Vender, a former chief of the Chilean Air Force, providing a perspective from within the military establishment. By combining these sources, the documentary investigates both the moral motivations of the Scottish workers and the practical importance of their refusal to maintain aircraft used by the dictatorship. The project began as a short documentary produced through the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme. Director Felipe Bustos Sierra subsequently developed the short into a feature-length film. The longer version connects the workers' memories with Chile's political history and with the later recognition they received after Chile returned to democracy. In 2015, Fulton, Keenan and Somerville were awarded the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins at the rank of Commander, one of Chile's highest honors for foreign recipients. The award ceremony took place at Glasgow City Chambers and was conducted by Chile's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Rolando Drago. The event was organized with the participation of Sierra and appears in the film. A further strand of the production concerned an engine associated with the boycott that had been lost and later rediscovered. The engine was brought back to Scotland and, in 2019, installed as a public monument at South Lanarkshire College in East Kilbride. This transformed an object connected with the historical dispute into a permanent memorial to the workers' decision. The feature documentary was released commercially in the United Kingdom in March 2018 and later made available on DVD. Its television profile expanded when BBC Scotland selected it as the final programme broadcast on the channel's first day. The channel later repeated it in 2019 and 2020. International distribution included a Spanish-language version in 2019 and a Chilean theatrical release through Miradoc on 6 June 2019. Nae Pasaran received critical and institutional recognition in the same period. It won Best Feature at the 2018 British Academy Scotland Awards, while Sierra was shortlisted for Best Director (Factual). The film was also shortlisted for Best Documentary at the 2018 British Independent Film Awards and won the Audience Prize at the San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival in April 2019. Its United Kingdom cinema performance was described as making it the most successful Scottish documentary in British cinemas until the later release of My Old School in 2022. The documentary's continuing screenings, festival circulation and memorial legacy have kept the East Kilbride boycott connected to broader discussions of political responsibility, workplace action and international solidarity.

• 2019

  Engine memorial unveiled in East Kilbride

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  An engine rediscovered during production is installed as a monument at South Lanarkshire College.

• 2019

  Spanish and Chilean releases expand circulation

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  A Spanish-language version circulates internationally, while Miradoc releases the film generally in Chile on 6 June.

• 2018

  Feature documentary is released

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  The expanded feature-length documentary receives commercial release in the United Kingdom in March.

• 2018

  BBC Scotland channel launch broadcast

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  The documentary is broadcast as the final programme on the first day of the new BBC Scotland channel.

• 2018

  Scottish and British award recognition

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  The film wins Best Feature at the British Academy Scotland Awards and is shortlisted for Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards.

• 2015

  Three workers receive Chile's Order of Bernardo O'Higgins

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  Bob Fulton, John Keenan and Robert Somerville receive the Commander rank of the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins at a Glasgow ceremony.

• 2013

  Short documentary is produced

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  The project begins as a short film supported by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme.

• 1978

  Boycott period ends

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  The documented period of the workers' refusal runs from 1974 through 1978.

• 1974

  East Kilbride workers begin refusing engine work

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  Workers at the Rolls-Royce factory begin a boycott of servicing and repairing engines for Chilean Air Force Hawker Hunter aircraft.

• 1973

  Chilean military coup creates the political context

  [1]Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org

  The coup in Chile and the repression that followed became the reason cited by East Kilbride workers for refusing to service engines intended for the Chilean Air Force.

Historical and political documentary centered on labor solidarity, anti-dictatorship activism and the international consequences of the 1970s Chilean coup.

• Feature documentary film · 2018

  Nae Pasaran

  The 2018 feature-length documentary directed by Felipe Bustos Sierra. It recounts the refusal by four East Kilbride Rolls-Royce workers and their colleagues to service engines for Chilean Air Force aircraft during the Pinochet dictatorship. The film combines worker testimony, accounts from Chilean victims of the coup and commentary from a former Chilean Air Force chief.

• Short documentary film · 2013

  Nae Pasaran

  The original short documentary developed through the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme. It provided the foundation for Sierra's later feature-length treatment of the East Kilbride workers' boycott.

• Localized documentary release · 2019

  Nae Pasaran Spanish-language version

  A Spanish-language version released in 2019 for wider circulation in Spanish-speaking markets, including Chile and festival audiences in Spain.

• Home-video release · 2018

  Nae Pasaran DVD

  A DVD edition issued after the film's United Kingdom theatrical release, extending access beyond cinemas and broadcast screenings.

• 2019

  Chilean theatrical distributionProduct launch

  Background

  The documentary's subject directly concerned Chilean political history and the country's military aviation during the dictatorship.

  Action taken

  Miradoc distributed the film for general release in Chile from 6 June 2019.

  Aftermath

  The film also circulated in Spanish and won the Audience Prize at the San Sebastián Human Rights Film Festival.

  Source

• 2018

  United Kingdom theatrical releaseProduct launch

  Background

  The completed feature documentary had developed from the earlier short film and focused on the East Kilbride workers' action during the Chilean dictatorship.

  Action taken

  The film was commercially released in United Kingdom cinemas in March 2018 and later issued on DVD.

  Aftermath

  It achieved significant recognition, including a British Academy Scotland Award and a British Independent Film Award shortlist placement.

  Source

• 2013

  Expand the short film into a feature documentaryStrategy

  Background

  The initial project was a short documentary supported by the Scottish Documentary Institute's Bridging the Gap programme.

  Action taken

  Felipe Bustos Sierra developed the short into a feature-length film with a broader historical and international scope.

  Aftermath

  The feature was commercially released in 2018 and subsequently received television, festival and international distribution.

  Source

1. 1Nae Pasaranen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Nae Pasaran official websitenaepasaran.com