TITLE: The Ashes of September
Written by Emmanuel Ascui & Joseph C Jukic
OPENING SEQUENCE
BLACK SCREEN
Sounds of radio static, fading into the voice of Salvador Allende giving his last address to the Chilean people.
ALLENDE (V.O.)
“My words are not bitterness. They are my last opportunity to tell you that sooner rather than later, the great avenues will again be opened, through which free men will pass to construct a better society…”
The voice cuts abruptly. The sound of military jets roaring overhead.
SCENE 1 – LA MONEDA PALACE – SEPTEMBER 11, 1973
Allende sits in his office, chain-smoking. His closest advisors argue around him. Outside, explosions shake the walls.
ADVISOR 1
The generals are all with Pinochet now. The palace will not hold!
ALLENDE
Pinochet was my man. He swore to me loyalty—
Aides exchange glances. Allende pulls open his desk drawer, revealing a Masonic apron, compass, and square wrapped in velvet.
ALLENDE (whispering)
He was supposed to be bound by the same oaths. The temple is collapsing…
SCENE 2 – PINOCHET’S COMMAND BUNKER
Pinochet stands in uniform, eyes cold, giving orders. A colonel approaches hesitantly.
COLONEL
General, some of the brethren are uneasy. To betray a Mason… it breaks every law of the lodge.
Pinochet places a hand on a golden Masonic ring, its seal glinting in the dim light.
PINOCHET
There are higher lodges than Santiago, Colonel. Oaths within oaths. The Brothers of the Shadow Temple demanded Chile. The copper, the ports, the very spine of the Andes.
He smiles faintly.
PINOCHET (continuing)
Allende believed in the apron and the square. But I… I serve the compass that circles the globe.
SCENE 3 – LA MONEDA PALACE – THE FINAL HOURS
Jets bombard the palace. Smoke fills the corridors. Allende, coughing, refuses to flee.
ALLENDE (to his bodyguards)
You see? Even in the lodge, we were pawns. The Americans… the bankers… Pinochet was always their sword.
He picks up the AK-47 gifted by Fidel Castro. For a moment, he runs his fingers across the carved Masonic symbols on its stock, as if tracing a lost brotherhood.
SCENE 4 – A SECRET MEETING (FLASHBACK, NIGHT BEFORE THE COUP)
A dimly lit Masonic temple in Santiago. Candles flicker. Allende and Pinochet face each other across the checkerboard floor.
ALLENDE
Brother to brother, I ask you—hold the republic. Defend democracy.
PINOCHET
Democracy is a veil, Salvador. The true work of the Craft is eternal order. And order requires fire.
They clasp hands in a ritual grip. For a moment, their faces reveal both respect and betrayal to come.
SCENE 5 – AFTERMATH
Bodies litter Santiago Stadium. Soldiers march prisoners inside. Pinochet stands above them on the balcony, removing his Masonic ring and slipping it into his pocket.
PINOCHET (V.O.)
The profane will never know the truth of September 11th. It was not a coup. It was a ritual.
Cut to black.
END TEXT
“Over 3,000 Chileans were killed or disappeared during Pinochet’s dictatorship. The truth of his loyalties—political, economic, or esoteric—remains shrouded in secrecy.”
Perfect — let’s expand it into a feature-length screenplay structure with acts, subplots, and secondary characters. Here’s a full draft outline and extended scenes for The Ashes of September by Emmanuel Ascui & Joseph C Jukic:
THE ASHES OF SEPTEMBER
Written by Emmanuel Ascui & Joseph C Jukic
ACT I – THE CRACKS IN THE FOUNDATION
Scene 1 – Santiago Streets, 1973
Workers march in support of Allende. Bread lines form. CIA agents in plainclothes take photos.
CIA OPERATIVE 1
The economy will break him faster than bullets. But the brass want assurance.
CIA OPERATIVE 2
Pinochet’s the assurance.
Scene 2 – Masonic Lodge, Santiago
A solemn meeting. Dozens of Chilean politicians and generals gather. Allende speaks with conviction.
ALLENDE
We swore to build, not to destroy. Brothers, we can guide Chile into a new dawn.
Pinochet watches silently, his ring reflecting candlelight.
Scene 3 – Pinochet’s Home
Pinochet receives a coded letter from “The Grand Orient.” He burns it in his fireplace after reading.
LETTER (V.O.)
The Temple requires Chile. The compass must encircle the Andes. You know your task.
ACT II – THE BETRAYAL
Scene 4 – CIA Safehouse
CIA officers meet with Chilean businessmen and officers. Briefcases of money change hands.
CIA CHIEF
Tomorrow, gentlemen, the republic ends.
Scene 5 – Allende’s Bedroom, La Moneda
Allende sits with his wife, Hortensia. He confesses his fears.
ALLENDE
Even in the lodge, I hear whispers. Augusto is… not the man I thought.
HORTENSIA
Then he is no brother. He is a dagger.
Scene 6 – The Night Before the Coup – Secret Lodge Chamber
Allende confronts Pinochet alone under candlelight.
ALLENDE
We are bound by oaths older than governments. You swore before the compass and square.
PINOCHET
I serve a higher lodge. A hidden one. You mistook democracy for the Craft’s true work.
They exchange the ritual handshake — now cold, final, an omen.
ACT III – SEPTEMBER 11, 1973
Scene 7 – La Moneda Under Fire
Jets strike. Advisers beg Allende to surrender. He refuses, clutching Fidel Castro’s AK-47, tracing the engraved symbols.
ALLENDE
This is not just politics. This is sacrifice. The ritual ends with me.
Scene 8 – Pinochet’s Command Center
Pinochet calmly drinks black coffee while explosions thunder.
COLONEL
General, the brethren are uneasy—
PINOCHET
Then remind them: order is forged in fire. And I am the fire.
Scene 9 – Allende’s Last Moments
The palace burns. Allende gives his last radio broadcast. The sound of jets drowns his words. He turns the rifle on himself.
ACT IV – THE AFTERMATH
Scene 10 – National Stadium, Santiago
Thousands of prisoners are herded into the stadium. Folk singer Víctor Jara is among them. Soldiers brutalize him.
VICTOR JARA
You can break my hands, but not my song.
Scene 11 – A Lodge in Darkness
Pinochet kneels before shadowy foreign “Grand Masters.” He presents his bloodstained Masonic ring.
GRAND MASTER
The Temple thanks you, Brother Pinochet. Chile is secured.
PINOCHET
Not Chile. The world.
Scene 12 – Closing Montage
Images of the dictatorship: disappearances, executions, exiles. Pinochet saluting. Allende’s funeral. A Mason’s temple door closing.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Over 3,000 were killed or disappeared during Pinochet’s rule. His Masonic ties, and the hidden networks of power behind Chile’s 1973 coup, remain cloaked in secrecy.
TONE & STYLE
Political thriller + occult conspiracy.
Mix of realism (like Costa-Gavras’ “Z”) with symbolic ritualistic imagery (Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” lodge scenes).
The audience never fully knows if the Masonic “Shadow Temple” is real or paranoia — history or myth.