Considered the "father of the Latin American documentary", Jesuit priest Rafael Sánchez has his place in the history of Chilean cinema for many reasons. He was the founder of the emblematic Film Institute of the Universidad Católica of Chile (1955), from where he made his films and trained documentary filmmakers such as Patricio Guzmán. In addition, he wrote the book El montaje cinematográfico: arte en movimiento (1970), a work on editing technique with wide international influence.

Filmed a single fiction film entitled El cuerpo y la sangre (1962), one of the fundamental films of the so-called New Chilean Cinema, which also features music created by the Franco-Chilean composer Juan Lemann.