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Cinema of Argentina
The Cinema of Argentina has a long tradition dating back to the late nineteenth century, and has played an important role in the Culture of Argentina for more than a century.
Throughout the 20th century the industry had numerous [[:Category:Argentine actors|actors]] and [[:Category:Argentine film directors|directors]] that made the Argentine cinema one of the most important in the Spanish-speaking world.
The films were often financed by the state.
The Beginning
In 1896 French photographer Eugene Py was working for the Belgian Henri Lepage and the Austrian Max Glucksmann at the 'Casa Lepage', a photographic supplies business in Buenos Aires. The three all saw the debut of the Lumiere Cinematographe in Argentina, in Buenos Aires on 18 July 1896, at the Teatro Odeon, only a year after its debut in Paris.
Lepage then imported the first French cinematographic equipment into the country. In 1897, using a Gaumont camera, Py (known as Eugenio Py in South America) subsequently shot what was for some time believed to be the first Argentine film, La Bandera Argentina (which consisted of a flag of Argentina blazing on the wind at the Plaza de Mayo). Nowadays it is known that a German, named Federico Figner, screened the first three Argentine films the 24th of November, 1896 (shorts depicting sights of Buenos Aires). Py continued to produce films for exhibition at the Casa Lepage for several years, following up with Viaje del Doctor Campos Salles a Buenos Aires and La revista de la escuadra Argentina (1901). By that time, the first projection halls were opened working as part of the cross-national film production, distribution and system developed by Glucksmann in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
Early developments
Several Argentine artists continued experimenting the possibilities of the new invention, making news shorts and documentaries. Eduardo Cardini filmed Escenas Callejeras (1901) and Mario Gallo made the first Argentine film with a point-of-view: El fusilamiento de Dorrego, "Dorrego's execution", 1908.
Other directors such as Ernesto Gunche directed a number of successful early documentaries.
The Argentine history and literature provided the themes of the first years of film-making. One of the first successes of the national cinema was Nobleza Gaucha of 1915, inspired in Martin Fierro, gaucho poems by Jose Hernandez. Based on Jose Marmol's novel, Amalia (1914 film) was the first full-length movie of national production, and in 1917 El apostol, a satiric short on president Hipolito Yrigoyen, became the first animated feature film in world cinema.
Also in 1917 Carlos Gardel in Flor de durazno, directed by Francisco Defilippis Novoa, made its debut.
1920s
[[List of Argentine films:1920s]]
Directors such as Jose A. Ferreyra began to work producing films in Argentine cinema releasing films such as Palomas rubias (1920), La Gaucha (1921) and Buenos Aires, ciudad de ensueno in 1922. Films that followed included La Maleva, Corazon de criolla, Melenita de oro, Leyenda del puente inca (1923), Odio serrano, Mientras Buenos Aires duerme, Arriero de Yacanto (1924) and El Organito de la tarde and Mi ultimo tango (1925).
In 1926 Ferreyra released La Vuelta al Bulin, La Costurerita que dio aquel mal paso and Muchachita de Chiclana followed by Perdon, viejita (1927).
Actors of the period include Alvaro Escobar and Elena Guido .
Towards the end of the decade directors such as Julio Irigoyen began to release films such as Alma en pena in 1928. Films such as these began to feature the Argentine culture of tango dancing into films, something which rocketed later in the 1930s after the advent of sound.
1930s: The beginning of sound
[[List of Argentine films:1930s]]
The incorporation of sound had a great impact. In 1930 Adios Argentina became the first Argentine film to have a soundtrack. The film spawned star actresses such as Libertad Lamarque and Ada Cornaro who both debuted in the film.
In 1931 Jose A. Ferreyra directed Munequitas portenas, and was the first Argentine spoken film, with Vitaphone synchronisation. That year El Cantar de mi ciudad was directed by Jose A. Ferreyra as early directors made the transition to sound.
Around 1933 the Movietone arrived and it allowed both voice and music in motion pictures. Also, the first two Argentine cinematographic studios were created: Argentina Sono Film was founded by Angel Mentasti, and Lumiton was created by Enrique Telemaco Susini, Cesar Jose Guerrico and Luis Romero Carranza.
The first disc-less sound film was Tango (1931), directed by Luis Maglia Barth and a key film of the period was the tango film Dancing (1933 film) which saw the birth of a number of Argentine stars such as Amelia Bence and Tito Lusiardo and other actors such as Tita Merello, Floren Delbene, Aida Alberti and Armando Bo began to gain popularity.
Successful films were: El alma del bandoneon, Mario Soffici, 1935; La muchacha de a bordo, Manuel Romero, 1936; Ayudame a vivir, 1936 by Ferreyra; Besus brujos (1937) by Ferreyra; La vuelta al nido and Asi es la vida (1939) directed by Francisco Mugica.
Manuel Romero in particular was one of the most prominent directors of the mid to late 1930s and consisently worked in comedy based films often with rising Argentine star Luis Sandrini in films such as Don Quijote del altillo.
"Classic" cinema
The film industry in Argentina reached its pinnacle in the late 1930s and 1940s when 5,000 artisans produced an average of forty-two films annually, each of them honouring popular and political themes primarily interested in social criticism.
However, since 1943 the prohibitive censorship of the Peron presidency led to a decline of the Argentine movie industry, by forcing native films to turn their backs on the homegrown issues that spoke to the common audience. As Argentine cinema steadily lost viewership, foreign product from the United States gained a large foothold in the Argentine market. The problem eventually became so bad that Argentina tried to curb the influx with the Cinema Law of 1957, establishing the "Instituto Nacional de Cinematografia" to provide education and funding.
However films such as these had success: Historia de una noche, Luis Saslavsky, 1941; La dama duende, Luis Saslavsky, 1945; Malambro Lucas Demare and Hugo Fregonese, 1945); Albeniz (Luis Cesar Amadori) starring Pedro Lopez Lagar (1947); Pelota de trapo, Torres Rios, 1948; Crimen de Oribe, Torres Rios, 1950; and Las aguas bajan turbias, by Hugo del Carril, 1952.
First "New Cinema"
Since the late 1950s a new generation of film directors succeeded in joining the technical ability with aesthetic refinement that finally took Argentine films to international film festivals. The first wave of such directors are Leopoldo Torre-Nilsson, Fernando Ayala, David Jose Kohon, Simon Feldman, and Fernando Solanas.
Directors such as Tulio Demicheli and Carlos Schlieper began to emerge who often both wrote and directed them. A second generation that achieved a cinematographic style were Jose Martinez Suarez, Manuel Antin, and Leonardo Favio.
1960s
Kurt Land directed El Asalto in 1960 starring Alberto de Mendoza, a crime drama shot in black and white. In 1961 Lautaro Murua, a Chilean working in the cinema of Argentina directed Alias Gardelito. The film showed strong political and social undertones and is about the difficulty of living an honest life in the face of an unrelenting poverty. The title of this story is taken from the name of the great Argentine singer Carlos Gardel, the idol of the antihero Toribio portrayed by Alberto Argibay. Toribio's goal in life is to emulate the famous singer and making his own way successfully in the music business. Yet at the same time, he does not stop his illegal means of making ends meet, stealing and petty thievery. Films such as A hierro muere starring Alberto de Mendoza and Olga Zubarry and Accidente 703 in 1962 were often co-produced with Spain and often featured both Argentine and Spanish born actors.
In 1963 comedy films became to feature prominently in Argentine cinema, and films such as Alias Flequillo in 1963 directed by Julio Saraceni starred comedians such as Jose Marrone. Likewise Las Aventuras del Capitan Piluso en el Castillo del Terror starred comedians such as Alberto Olmedo who consistently appeared in the genre thorughout the 1960s and 1970s appearing in 1967's El Andador and countless other slap-stick comedies.
Towards the mid to late 1960s directors such as Armando Bo produces a high number of sex comedies many of which shocked the audience as they were a from of soft porn and displayed a controversial degree of nudity and sex not seen in the industry before. This preference continued into the 1970s.
1970s
Post junta films
A new era in Argentine cinema started after the downfall of the last dictator, General Galtieri, and his autocratic regime in 1982. The era saw an abrupt end to the popularity of slapstick comedies towards films with more serious undertones and subject matter.
The first group deals frankly with the repression, the tortures, and the disappearances during the Dirty War in the 1970s and early 1980s. They include: Funny Little Dirty War (1983), The Official Story (1985), Night of the Pencils (1986), and others.
A second group of films includes Veronico Cruz (1988) which uses metaphor and hints at wider socio-political issues. Cinergia movie file by Cristina Molano-Wendt, Amy Bianchi, Shannon Tierny, and Brian Sabella. For educational purposes.
New Internationalist. Issue 192, February 1989.Contemporary cinema
1990s
[[List of Argentine films:1990s]]
The 1990s brought another New Argentine Cinema wave, marked by independent productions and a twist from the classical Argentine cinema.
In 1991 Alambrado was released.
Films such as Nueve Reinas and El Hijo de la Novia received praise and various awards around the world.
2000s
[[List of Argentine films:2000s]]
Since the beginning of Argentine cinema, almost 2,500 films have been produced, with 2004 and 2005 being the most prolific years with 66 and 63 films respectively.
Argentine films
For an A-Z list of Argentine films currently on wikipedia see [[:Category:Argentine films]].
For a timeline of Argentine films see List of Argentine films
Argentine film companies
EMB Entertainment, Corp. / Contrakultura
Aleph Producciones
Aqua Films
Argentina Sono Film S.A.C.I.
BD Cine
INCAA
Patagonik Film Group
Pol-ka
See also
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina Awards
Argentine Film Critics Association Awards
Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival
Cinenacional.com
Clarin Awards
Grupo Cine Liberacion
Mar del Plata International Film Festival
World cinema
External links
History of the cinema in Argentina at INCAA. (In Spanish)
National Cinematographic Industry Union.
Argentina: a movie set in Argentina.ar.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Cinema of Argentina
