What is 'Britain and the Other 9/11'?
A feature-length documentary co-directed by documentary filmmaker Pablo Navarrete and investigative journalist John McEvoy.
For most people in Britain, 11 September marks the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centres in New York.
In Chile, the date resonates for another reason.
On 11 September 1973, a military coup was launched against Chile’s socialist president, Salvador Allende. That morning, British-made Hawker Hunter jets bombed La Moneda, Chile’s presidential palace, while tanks patrolled the surrounding streets of Santiago.
By the end of the day, Allende was dead and the Chilean military had taken power. What followed was a 17-year-long military dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet, under which thousands of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands more were tortured.
The US government’s role in the Chilean coup is well known. US President Richard Nixon infamously ordered the CIA to “make the economy scream” in Chile, and launched a series of covert operations against Allende’s government.
The UK government’s role in the death of Chile’s democracy and the rise of the Pinochet regime is less known.
Britain and the Other 9/11 explores the secret history of British interference in Chile’s democracy, the friendship that emerged between Margaret Thatcher and Pinochet, and the New Labour government’s decision to allow the Chilean dictator to evade justice for crimes against humanity.
The film draws on years of archival research and Freedom of Information work by John McEvoy.
In June 2023, we travelled to Chile to meet and interview the relatives of British nationals who were killed by the Pinochet regime, torture survivors, award-winning Chilean journalists, and former Chilean officials. We also spoke with Pablo Sepúlveda Allende, the grandson of the former Chilean president, about Britain’s hidden hand in Chile.
In late 2023 and 2024 we carried out further filming in the UK and Spain. In January 2025 we did some final filming in Chile and the UK. We are currently in the post-production phase and plan to release the documentary in the next couple of months. Click here to see some photos from these shoots.
If you like this project, please select a reward and become part of making 'Britain and the Other 9/11' a reality. Your contribution will help to cover some of the costs of the extra filming that has been done and post-production costs such as a grade, audio mix, and sound design.
Many thanks to those of you who supported our initial crowdfunding campaign. Your support is invaluable in making these independent films possible.
***Keep up to date with the film's progress in the updates tab of this page and here.***