In 1978, the discovery in the Hornos de Lonquén - an abandoned mine in the metropolitan region of Santiago - of human remains belonging to men who had been detained in 1973 and had disappeared since then, confirmed suspicions of enforced disappearance by the Pinochet regime.This article analyses one of the elements of the impact of enforced disappearance on the victims' relatives, friends and neighbours and on societies, focusing on Latin American cinema in whose narrative content the search for and eventual finding of the remains of disappeared detainees is of some relevance. We focus especially on three documentary films that show the importance of the Lonquén discovery in the Chilean imaginary and the strong symbolic value of Lonquén as a paradigm of a praxis of state violence and concealment of the truth that has caused immense trauma and has consequences nowadays.In 1978, the discovery in the Hornos de Lonquén - an abandoned mine in the metropolitan region of Santiago - of human remains belonging to men who had been detained in 1973 and had disappeared since then, confirmed suspicions of enforced disappearance by the Pinochet regime.This article analyses one of the elements of the impact of enforced disappearance on the victims' relatives, friends and neighbours and on societies, focusing on Latin American cinema in whose narrative content the search for and eventual finding of the remains of disappeared detainees is of some relevance. We focus especially on three documentary films that show the importance of the Lonquén discovery in the Chilean imaginary and the strong symbolic value of Lonquén as a paradigm of a praxis of state violence and concealment of the truth that has caused immense trauma and has consequences nowadays.En 1978 el hallazgo en los Hornos de Lonquén -una mina de cal abandonada, en la región metropolitana de Santiago- de restos humanos que pertenecían a hombres que habían sido detenidos en 1973 y habían desaparecido desde entonces, confirmó las sospechas acerca de la desaparición forzada ejecutada por el régimen pinochetista.En este artículo se analiza uno de los elementos del impacto de la desaparición forzada en los familiares, amigos y vecinos de las víctimas y en las sociedades, focalizándonos en la cinematografía sobre Latinoamérica en cuyos contenidos narrativos la búsqueda y el eventual encuentro de restos de detenidos desaparecidos tiene cierta relevancia. Nos centramos especialmente en tres películas documentales que evidencian la importancia del hallazgo de Lonquén en el imaginario chileno y el fuerte valor simbólico de Lonquén como paradigma de una praxis de violencia estatal y de ocultamiento de la verdad que ha causado traumas inmensos y que tiene secuelas hoy en día
