Argentina
Season 2 Episode 204 | 57m 28sVideo has Closed Captions
Carlos in Córdoba: a burst of positivity whose films satirize life in economic-woe-filled Argentina.
We travel to Córdoba to meet Carlos, a burst of positive energy who became a filmmaker from a love of Disney movies. Córdoba is known for Cuarteto music, and the city houses historic monasteries and some of the oldest universities in the globe. We explore Argentina's past, from being one of the richest countries in the world to the darkness of the Dirty War; and celebrate its rich cinema heritage.
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Argentina
Season 2 Episode 204 | 57m 28sVideo has Closed Captions
We travel to Córdoba to meet Carlos, a burst of positive energy who became a filmmaker from a love of Disney movies. Córdoba is known for Cuarteto music, and the city houses historic monasteries and some of the oldest universities in the globe. We explore Argentina's past, from being one of the richest countries in the world to the darkness of the Dirty War; and celebrate its rich cinema heritage.
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Soccer culture.
Gaucho culture.
The original cowboys.
Perhaps you think of Argentinian steaks and wine.
All fine, fine, fine.
Sightseeing in Buenos Aires, the Paris of South America.
Que bonita.
What I discovered in Argentina is this and so much more.
Fine arts and music, theatres and museums to last a lifetime, gorgeous churches, universities, monasteries, old institutions of learning.
the Argentinian dream.
A history as bold and exciting as it is dark and conflicting, and a spirit of defiant perseverance, resourcefulness, full of life.
♪♪ “Steadee█s Back In The Groove” Theme Song ♪♪ Hi!
I█m Stephanie, the Cinema Nomad.
Join me on brand new adventures.
The world is a wonderful place, where people overcome incredible odds to make their mark.
We█ll meet filmmakers who are as courageous as they are inspiring.
Cinema Nomad connects across cultures to learn, explore, share, and carry on a heritage of cinematic storytelling.
[film slate claps] [Stephanie and Carlos giggle.]
[Stephanie off camera] “Say Whiskey” Hola.
Mi nombre es Carlos Trioni Soy un cineasta de Córdoba, Argentina.
Tengo 37 años.
Officially named the Argentine Republic, Argentina is teeming with life.
With a population of over 45 million, it is the second largest country in South America after Brazil.
Bordering Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil, along with the Andes Mountains to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
It is the eighth largest country in the world by landmass.
Argentina was once one of the richest countries in the world, representing a sort of South American dream.
In modern times, she has been plagued by economic woes, encountering some of the highest inflations known to man.
Argentina's sometimes described as a divided country with citizens who favor a stronger state, and others a free market.
The joke is the only unifying factor is that everyone is sure corruption exists in politics.
Argentinians who have risen to stardom include soccer star Diego Maradona and Pope Francis I, of the Jesuit order, the first Pope to have hailed from South America.
And, of course, Che Guevara, doctor turned revolutionary.
The name Argentina derives from the Latin word for silver, a name founded in good hope, as not much was discovered.
Argentina falls within one of the top ten largest wine producers in the world, with Malbec being the most popular export.
Agriculture is still a major source of revenue and especially famous are its cattle, over 50 million strong.
If you're a meat lover, Argentinian steaks are some of the finest in the world, but there's so much more than meets the eye in this eclectic country.
Cuando era chico me gustaba mucho Peter Pan la película porque sentía que había algo que envolvía a la historia del personaje.
Esto de ser siempre niño y vivir en un mundo de fantasía y mágico.
Y me gustaba ese mundo de piratas, sirenas, los indios, las hadas.
Sentía que había algo sobre la niñez eterna que me atraía de algún.
De algún modo.
Después, bueno, obviamente fuí creciendo, y hubo otras películas que llamaron la atención, que se yo, como “Aladdín” o incluso digamos “El Rey León” pero esos personajes me parecen muy...muy interesantes Born and raised in Córdoba, Argentina, Carlos Ignacio Trioni grew up loving Disney movies and musicals, which inspired him towards cinematic storytelling.
His films are often drawn from childhood memories, and he sometimes puts homages to his childhood self in his movies.
He graduated in 2007 from the National University of Córdoba as a production technician in audiovisual media, and in 2013 with a Bachelor of Film and TV, where he began making a prolific amount of short films.
He works as a professor in film and media, and for Carlos, teaching is not just a job, it's a passion and a family legacy.
Both of his parents were teachers.
Carlos researches, writes and gives talks on cinema related topics.
His works have been published in various magazines and periodicals.
He has worked as the director and coordinator of the Córdoba International Film Festival.
And in 2015, he won a development prize to direct his first feature film, “The Hypocrites.” Carlos was selected to participate in the Young Art Biennial of Buenos Aires in 2017.
He went on to win production contest for his film “The Water Spring.” released in 2020 and played the festival circuit worldwide.
I visited Carlos in his hometown of Córdoba.
I visited Carlos in his hometown of Córdoba.
I was invigorated by his bubbling personality and winning smile.
Carlos is a shining light of positivity, a nicer guy you cannot meet.
How did you first fall in love with cinema?
Cuando era muy chiquito, siempre teníamos la costumbre con mi papá de ir al videoclub y alquilar películas en VHS.
Y ese ritual que hacíamos siempre los días sábados era muy especial para mí y por lo general, bueno, siempre elegía yo la película que veíamos junto con mis hermanas.
Cuando yo tenía 12 años, mis papás organizaron un viaje para visitar la ciudad de Orlando y Disneyworld.
Una de las cosas que más me llamó la atención de de ese viaje es que hay algunas atracciones que consisten básicamente en mostrar el backstage o la forma en la que se hacen ciertas películas, sobre todo lo que tiene que ver con los efectos especiales y demás, incluso había una atracción que era que te mostraban a algunos dibujantes haciendo algunas animaciones y demás, y eso fue generó un impacto muy importante en mí, porque pude ver de primera mano, a grandes rasgos, cómo es que se hacían las películas para mi persona e imaginarme si efectivamente yo podía estar haciendo eso en mi futuro.
Córdoba, the capital city of the Córdoba Province.
Located in the central Sierras, it is the second largest city in Argentina, with an urban population of around 2 million.
Córdoba is home to seven universities, emphasizing the importance the people place on education and enlightenment.
It is home to the UNESCO listed Jesuit block, cloisters, churches and educational centers dating back to the 17th century.
Here is where the original campus of the National University of Córdoba resides.
One of South America's oldest universities.
And forget about the tango for a moment, because Córdoba prides itself on its own popular form of folk music, the Cuarteto, made famous by the likes of Leonor Marzano, Carlos La Mona Jiménez and Rodrigo El Potro Bueno.
Do you think your identity or culture as a person from Argentina, or specifically Córdoba, influences how you make films?
Y de alguna una forma las películas que he hecho hablan sobre, sobre... mi sociedad, sobre mi, sobre lo que es ser Cordobés y no concibo hacer películas de otra manera, siempre para mi va a ser importante contar algo sobre mi lugar, sobre mi sociedad, sobre mi.
Do you think that there's a big difference between Córdoba and Buenos Aires?
Evidentemente la Sociedad de Córdoba Es bastante distinta a la de Buenos Aires, en relación a su humor, su, la forma también en la que nos relacionamos con las personas, siempre dicen que bueno, cuando vienen acá, somos muy amables, muy hospitalarios, muy graciosos, y bueno evidentemente todo eso también influye en el modo de hacer nuestras películas.
No?
Pero...en relación al trabajo propiamente dicho si, aquí en Córdoba hay menos recursos, o hay disponibilidad de menos recursos digamos económicos, por lo cual digamos hay menos películas y también tenemos menos experiencia por lo que realmente se empezaron a hacer películas en continuidad hace aproximadamente diez, doce años, esa experiencia se está construyendo, no?
y una de la cosas que creo que por ahí diferencia hacer cine acá es de que hay una cierta situación particular que se da que es que en todos los rodajes, el grupo de personas que trabaja, el equipo técnico y también el equipo artístico suele repetirse, entonces se configura una especie de relación de amistad una relación más...más fraterna entre todos los integrantes, y eso bueno.
Human presence in Argentina is said to go back to 10,000 BCE.
Original inhabitants include the Huarpe, the Toba and the Diaguita.
In present day.
There are at least 39 indigenous tribes in Argentina, including the Mapuche, Pampa, Guarani, Wichi and Qum communities, many of whom are still actively fighting for their land back.
Early Spanish conquistadors came in search of silver.
Pedro de Mendoza attempted to settle in 1536, though the indigenous Querandí turned him out.
Meanwhile, the Spanish founded two dozen cities in the second half of the 16th century, the most important being Tucumán and Córdoba.
Early on, Córdoba became an important educational center, and Jesuit missionaries established Estancias in the Sierras to supply Alto Peru with mules, food, and wine.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Spanish slave trade brought an African population.
While the numbers maybe were perhaps smaller than the other Spanish colonies.
The reality of a slave trade existed.
One myth, however, is that the African-Argentinian population was wiped out.
This is not true.
While future wars may have decreased the population, there exist today an African-Argentinian community descendants of these enslaved and often freed individuals, many of whom are strong artists and activists.
During the War for Independence, which took place between 1810 to 1825, Maria Remedios del Valle was a woman soldier with African and indigenous heritage who fought with the Northern Army, and her heroics earned her immortality on Argentina's highest banknote.
While many died, other enslaved Africans ultimately won their freedoms by fighting for Argentina in this war for independence.
After the declaration of independence in 1816, General José de San Martin, considered the father of the nation, crossed the Andes and fought against the Royalists who resisted liberation of present day Chile and Peru.
Civil wars ensued for 20 years post-independence between rival factions gunning for control over the new country.
The late 1800s, under President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, saw a boom in the economy, and immigrants flocked to Argentina, coming largely from Spain, Italy, Germany and Eastern Europe.
This was the Golden Age of Argentina.
From 1880, Argentina entered an era of prosperity, and established itself as one of the richest countries in the world, and by the 20th century, Argentina had a highly developed rail network.
With the rise of industry and agriculture, life flourished.
What was the first film that you actually directed?
Fue uno de mis proyectos cuando estaba estudiando en la universidad, fue el proyecto central de tercer año.
Era una adaptación de un cuento de Gabriel García Márquez que se llama “Solo Vine A Hablar Por Teléfono”.
Era la primera vez en el cual también empezábamos a trabajar, dividiéndonos los roles por ahí previamente, en los dos años anteriores es como que hacíamos un poquito de todo, a veces hacias un poquito la cámara, después hacías un poquito, ayudabas con la dirección de arte, entonces bueno, estaba como muy difuso los roles y bueno, el grupo también, entre todos decidimos que yo iba a ser el que iba a dirigir y bueno, fue aprender un montón de cosas, digamos, porque estaba también por un lado las expectativas de cómo pensaba yo que ese cortometraje iba a quedar.
Luego, lo que finalmente quedó y en el medio todo el aprendizaje sobre cómo poner la cámara o cómo construir el espacio, cómo dirigir a los actores y actrices, cómo pensar audiovisualmente La pelicula.
What stories or themes are you most drawn to telling?
Bueno, las películas que he hecho siempre me interesó contar historias que tengan que ver con conmigo de alguna forma.
Nuevamente, no en un sentido autobiográfico, pero sí que estén relacionados de alguna manera, porque creo que es la forma en la cual yo puedo ser lo más honesto y sincero con lo que estoy contando.
Algunas veces se trata de un recuerdo del pasado o de alguna anécdota que he vivido o de alguna situación que yo transité y de alguna manera lo tomo y lo re-convierto o lo transformo en una historia ficcional.
What surprised me about Argentina, at least in terms of their European heritage, is that the majority of this is descended from Italian rather than Spanish ancestry, due to immigration policies at the turn of the 20th century.
Uniquely, Argentina's constitution establishes freedom of migration.
Of course, migration policies may shift over time from leader to leader, but the general concept is, anyone who wishes to live in Argentina... may.
While the late 19th and early 20th centuries found a large number of Europeans immigrating, especially from Italy, in more modern times there's been an influx of immigrants from Korea, China and Japan and Africa, as well as students from the Spanish speaking world traveling here to study at Argentina's reputable universities.
Argentina is becoming a true melting pot.
{ western TV show playing in background } Otro de los trabajos que realicé o que son importantes para mi carrera es el trabajo con el que yo me recibí mi tesis era una tesis sobre una investigación y un desarrollo teórico sobre lo que era el cine minuto y que además aparte estaba acompañado de cuatro cineminutos, que son películas de un minuto de duración y cada uno de ellos tenía un género y un acercamiento distinto.
Uno era un documental, uno era una animación.
Y luego había dos ficciones, una que era de un corte más dramático y otro que era de un corte un poco más cómico.
Esos trabajos también fueron muy importantes, porque quizás no tanto por la película en sí, sino por todo lo que vino a continuación.
Ese acercamiento al formato del “cineminuto” fue lo que me llevó en cierta manera a desarrollar lo que es el Festival de Cineminutos de Córdoba.
How are these exercises kind of important to you as a film director.
Por un lado, una necesidad sintetizar y pensar al máximo qué es lo que va a mostrar en pantalla y que lo que se va a escuchar.
Y por otra parte, creo que es un formato que es muy lúdico, que permite jugar, permite experimentar, hacer películas implica mucho tiempo, mucho dinero, muchos, muchas personas implicadas.
Y este formato más pequeñito que tiene -10 de rodajes, por lo general siempre es uno solo.
El equipo técnico es más reducido, las historias son mucho más íntimas muchas veces o mucho más concretas y mucho más sencillas.
Permiten que uno pueda practicar y poner en marcha, bueno, la profesión.
{ film clip background soccer game } The first cinemagraphic exhibition in South America occurred in Argentina, just one year after the Lumieres launched in Paris.
The first cinema to open was El Nacional in 1900, in Buenos Aires.
“La Bandera Argentina,” showing Argentina's flag waving at Plaza de Mayo, was the first short film made by Eugene Py.
It is believed that the world's first animated feature was made in Argentina.
“El Apóstol,” a political satire.
Sadly, it was destroyed by a fire.
In the early 1900s.
Argentine silent film production was amongst the most prolific in Latin America, and by the 1920s the average Argentine went to the cinema 2 to 3 times a week.
In the 30s and 40s, Argentine film has been described as being profoundly anti-authoritarian, and when Charlie Chaplin's “The Great Dictator” was banned in 1940, cinephiles chartered ferries to Montevideo to see the movie in Uruguay.
“Dios Se Lo Pague” or “God Bless You” by Louis César Amadori was the first Latin American film presented at the Academy Awards, considered for Best Foreign Film Oscars in the first year the category was offered.
Since then, Argentina has had a robust representation at the Oscars.
From “The Truce” to “The Official Story,” “The Secret in Their Eyes” to “Wild Tales” and more.
Buenos Aires, the sophisticated capital of Argentina, is officially called the Autonomous City.
Citizens are known as Porteños, which translates to people of the port.
situated on the Rio de la Plata, Buenos Aires is one of South America's most important port cities and one of its most populous.
The center of politics, culture, industry, commerce and cinema.
The Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza first established a settlement in 1536 and deemed it.
Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa Maria del Buen Ayre This settlement is now the San Telmo District south of the city center, a hotspot for tourists and notable to me because it's where scenes from Wong Kar-Wai█s “Happy Together” and Francis Ford Coppola's “Tetro” were both filmed.
Buenos Aires has long been the center of Argentina's film industry.
I explored its colorful locations from the historic Plaza Mayo, the heartbeat of the city in good times and bad, to the awe inspiring Recoleta cemetery to Puerto Madero, on to the Broadway of Buenos Aires, with its cinemas and theatres showcasing an active arts scene.
And my tour would not be complete without a visit to the Museo del Cine, to learn all about the cinema history of Argentina.
The museum is situated in La Boca district, where tourists flock to El Caminito to see the famed neighborhood and colorful houses where the European immigrants first arrived in Argentina from boats and disembarked to live near here.
Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges famously described the tango as “un unsentimiento que se baila,” a feeling that is danced.
For years, Argentina's film culture centered around the art and love of the tango, a form of dance that originated in the 1880s in immigrant neighborhoods of Argentina and Uruguay.
In 1917, the silent film, “El Tango de la Muerte” centered around working class life in the barrios of Buenos Aires.
By the 1930s, Argentine tango films were extremely popular and helped make Carlos Gardel an international star.
The 1933 film tango is considered one of the first Argentinian talkies, and there's even a designated cinema day in Buenos Aires, April 27th, in homage to this film.
50 years after Gardel's death, Fernando Solanas made the popular movie “Tangos, The Exile of Gardel.” It was set in Paris, where the filmmaker was an exile during the Dirty War.
He referred to the movie as a Tanguardia, part tango, part tragedy and part comedy.
Modern movies that have utilized the seductive allure of tango include Robert Duvall's homage to the dance, “Assassination Tango,” British director Sally Potter's “The Tango Lesson,” Spanish director Carlos Suarez█s “Tango,” which is a meta story about a tango dancer making a film about a tango dancer.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some of the most talked about tango scenes in cinema.
Catherine Deneuve and Linh-Dan in the Oscar winning film “Indochine.” Al Pacino plays a blind man in “Scent Of A Woman” and dances tango to a Gardel hit song, “Por Una Cabeza” which, incidentally, is from Gardel█s 1935 film “Tango Bar.” And the always controversial Bernardo Bertolucci shows two women dancing the tango in “The Conformist.” Wong Kar-Wai counters this with his double male tango in “Happy Together.” The music of tango, with its suave moves, always stirs something inside my heart strings, especially when Tony Leung is involved.
One thing that compels me about Carlos is his love of the process, where he constantly creates and experiments.
After graduating from film school, Carlos and some friends started a production company called Dogma2010, inspired by the Danish Dogma95 movement of the 1990s.
In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg created The Five Obstructions.
Rules for themselves to make films by without using special effects or technology, going back to the basics of story and theme, focus on acting, and emphasizing the independent director rather than the control of the studios.
Like the Danes, Carlos and his filmmaker friends gave rules to themselves to live and work by.
Y bueno, medio como nos impusimos una serie de reglas que era básicamente, que se podrían resumir básicamente en filmar como sea y eso implicaba, bueno, poco presupuesto, rodar una o dos jornadas, filmar en las locaciones que teníamos disponibles con uno o dos actores, con los recursos que teníamos, aunque las nuestras no eran tan rígidas, sino que tienen más que ver con una filosofía de poder filmar bajo cualquier circunstancia y no y no dejar de hacer películas.
♪♪ happy music ♪♪ Can you explain to me, in your brain, what that film was about and why, cause it█s muy chiste.
Siempre me gustaron o siento que tuve como una facilidad en es momento, hasta ese momento, de hacer comedias.
Por ejemplo, esta adaptación de Gabriel García Márquez, después hicimos otro proyecto también que se llamaba “Elio”, Y como que la comedia siempre estuvo presente, o ese tipo de comedia siempre estuvo presente, porque bueno me parecía que, que me salío y que podía reír reirme o hacer reir con cosas simples.
A lot of your works feels like analogies for society government or politics of present day Argentina.
Creo, que nunca fuí una persona muy politica, en el sentido más común de la palabra no?, nunca participé un moviemento político un partido político.
Pero sí, me pareció siempre interesante hablar sobre, no sobre la política sino sobre la gente que ejerce la política.
During World War I, Argentina remained neutral, strengthening its ties with the U.S.
With the onset of the Great Depression, however, the military took power and social unrest ensued, leading to a military coup in 1930.
For the rest of the 20th century, Argentina was ruled by military governments, interspersed with brief periods of civil democracy.
Enter Juan Perón, a leader who in the ‘40s became a revered figurehead, creating a dynasty of power with the help of his second wife, Eva Duarte.
Popularly known as Evita, they held on to a strong grip of power and ruled by decree.
Don't worry.
I'll spare you my rendition of “Don't Cry For Me, Argentina.” The Peróns helped legitimize trade unions, extended political rights to working class citizens, secured voting rights for women, and made education more widely available.
Nationwide economic hardships, inflation, and clashes with religion and media ultimately hurt Perón's popularity.
In 1952, the death of Evita was mourned by the nation And by 1955, a military coup sent Juan Perón to exile in Spain.
30 years of catastrophic military rule, interspersed with some democratically elected presidents followed.
The 1960s to 80s brought upon political kidnappings and guerrilla style warfare on top of increasing economic woes.
In 1973, Juan Perón returned to Argentina and was reelected, but died in mid 1974.
In 1976, Jorge Rafael Videla, along with Emilio Eduardo Massara and Orlando Ramón Agosti, led a military coup and took control in order to put a stop to guerrilla movements and “restore social order.” Known as El Proceso, which for Videla involved arresting, torturing and killing anyone on his list of suspected leftists.
This intense period, from 1976 to 1983 is known as the Dirty War, and an estimated 30,000 people were disappeared.
Many are still unaccounted for.
In 1981, General Leopold Galtieri became president.
The military regime collapsed, and in 1983 Raúl Alfonsín was elected president.
Turns out it's hard to talk about history.
I'd like to believe that history is just a straight set of facts, so that we can learn from and understand where we as a civilization have evolved.
But that is not always the case.
National narratives are reshaped over time by current leaders, influencers, even from an outsider's gaze.
So where can we find the truth?
Argentina's history was especially difficult for me to verify.
The narrative that█s been told over and over again in guidebooks, newspapers and museums may not be entirely accurate.
There are voices that have been left out, sometimes even seemingly erased.
Released incredibly quickly after the end of the dictatorship was Luis Puenzo█s Oscar winning film, “The Official Story” about The Dirty War of the 1970s to 80s.
The film is a historical political drama that centers around an upper middle class couple in Buenos Aires who have an illegally adopted child.
Through the film, the mother comes to realize that the child she raised is the daughter of a disappeared woman.
¿Cálmate querés?
¿Qué sabes de Novillo?
Carlos█ debut feature film, “The Hypocrites,” is a laugh out loud, highly entertaining dramedy that Carlos wrote and co-directed with his DP, Santiago Sgarlatta.
I am absorbed in the plot all the way through the movie, with nice writing, good use of subtext, tension is built throughout and I love the ending.
“The Hypocrites” is about Nicolas, a wedding videographer who hates his job, and more so the entitled people he has to film.
In the lead up to a wedding for a high profile client, Nicolas accidentally records something compromising he shouldn't have known.
He sees this as a chance to blackmail the clients and finally have a way out of this horrendous job.
¿Está bueno?
La historia tiene mucho que ver con mis experiencias, como como camarógrafo de bodas y cosas que me tocaron vivir, personajes que me tocaron conocer.
Por otra parte, es una historia de 100% ficcional en el cual empezamos a incluir otros personajes, incluir otras situaciones y demás.
Can you talk to me a little bit about the significance of of the ending because I found it very both humorous and poignant.
[ sounds of helicopter leaving ] Para nosotros era muy importante que el plan que tenía nuestro personaje no funcionara.
Muchas personas nos han dicho de que pareciera como que nosotros no quisiéramos a nuestro personaje y además quisiéramos que le fuera mal.
Pero en realidad el final estaba en relación a lo que nosotros estábamos queriendo contar, que era que a ese grupo de personas que estaban ahí y a las cual el personaje tenía ganas de desenmascarar, por así decirlo, no les interesaba conocer esa verdad.
[ party sounds ] [ helicopter sounds ] Y que en cierta manera también servía para ponerlo a prueba al personaje.
Es un personaje que a lo largo de toda la película y a lo largo de toda su historia, por lo que él también va contando la película.
Nunca tomó la decisión de nada y esta es la primera vez que él termina ejecutando algo.
Inevitablemente, en el futuro va a tener que tomar decisiones y poner en marcha sus, sus, sus ideas y sus planes de alguna u otra manera.
Carlos invited me to join his friends for a maté in the park.
This drink they share, Yerba Maté, is a caffeine infused plant turned tea.
Drinking maté is a deep cultural and social tradition in Argentina and beyond, which connects people despite social class or backgrounds.
This is a weekly tradition for Carlos and his friends.
Going back to what she was saying, if you get famous, would you stay in Argentina and keep making films?
Yah, you█re not going, wanting to leave are you?
Three years... no, three months maybe in the Caribbean.
Another three years visiting the world, and the last month, here working.
Good plan.
It was a delight to meet Carlos's friends who are so devoted to one another.
On April 2nd, 1982, under the presidency of Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian forces were sent to Las Islas Malvinas.
as they are known from the British perspective, the Falkland Islands.
The sovereignty of this overseas territory, around 300 miles from Argentina and over 8000 miles from Britain, has been in dispute since 1833, since it's been under British control.
Argentina's invasion seemed to be an attempt for Galtieri to regain control of the narrative to grasp on to his power and make Argentina great again, at a time when the population was very tired of dictatorship and martial law.
This undeclared war failed miserably, and it was no good for anyone.
It lasted 74 days and at least 649 Argentinian soldiers, most young, were killed in the conflict.
There's an interesting documentary from 2018 directed by theatre artist Lola Arias.
“Theatre of War.” 35 years after the end of the Malvinas War, Lola brings together six veterans, half from Britain, half from Argentina, and pairs them together to work through their trauma and what happened in the war.
Young actors were brought in to play the veterans in a theatre piece, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
As a filmmaker, what are some of the bigger challenges you face besides funding?
Yo pienso que dirigir una película no es simplemente dar órdenes o intentar que el resto del equipo pueda plasmar tu visión.
Hacer una película es un proceso muy largo que implica muchas personas y entonces me parece que ser un líder es súmamente importante, poder guiar a todo ese conjunto de personas que es muy grande, que pueden ser 30 a 50 o 70 personas.
Guiar a todas esas personas, generar un buen clima de trabajo, un clima de trabajo ameno y que haga que todo el mundo que esté trabajando pueda sentirse pleno, feliz, Todas esas cosas me parecen súmamente importante y a las cuales por lo general no se le presta mucha atención.
In the 1960s, the New Argentine Cinema emerged, sharing some of the same values of the French New Wave.
But during the 1970█s military junta, film production was extremely limited.
Many filmmakers and actors had to go into exile.
Y con el regreso de la democracia en la década del 80, surgen dos cosas.
Un primer momento en el cual esos antiguos realizadores volvieron, regresaron y empezaron a contar películas de una forma un poco más libre, si, sobre temas y sobre estéticas también.
In the 1990s, this second New Argentine Cinema emerged with the films of Martín Rejtman and Pablo Trapero who catapulted local cinema back into the limelight.
Empezaron a retratar la realidad urbana que sucedía en Buenos Aires, si, desde la marginalidad o las clases bajas, la clase obrera, si, alejándose quizás de el cine sobre la clase media que predominaba previamente.
Rejtman█s “Rapado,” is largely considered the start of the New Wave.
He went on to direct “Silvia Prieto” and my personal favorite “The Magic Gloves,” which feels like a sardonic metaphor for the mess of the country's economic instability and lack of upward mobility.
Meanwhile, Trapero broke the scene with “Crane World,” followed up by “El Bonaerense,” “Rolling Family,” “The Lions Den,” “White Elephant” and “The Clan” Set at the end of the Dirty War within the transition to democracy and based on the true story of the Puccio family, at first, “The Clan” feels like a typical crime family gangster flick, but as the story goes on, you come to realize that the “head of the family” works for the government.
He kidnaps and kills children of very wealthy families.
Luego también hubo avances bueno avances no, en realidad innovaciones en relación a la estética, el uso de la cámara en mano, filmar con la luz disponible, si, también utilizar actores que no eran profesionales y eso dotaba en cierta manera de cierta genuinidad si lo hacía todo mucho más verdadero a lo que se estaba retratando.
Another film of note is “Garage Olimpo.” One of many about the dictatorship.
A bleak film that takes you into the world of a girl who is trapped as an unjust prisoner who's been kidnaped, and the weird obsession her torturer has for her.
It's interesting to see this story from the point of view of both the detained and the kidnappers.
They're just cogs in the wheel, trying to stay in their place within the hierarchy and survive too.
Fabián Bielinsky█s 2000 “Nueve Reinas” was a huge box office hit, and in 2009, Juan José Campanella█s “The Secret in Their Eyes,” starring one of Argentina's most recognizable actors, Ricardo Darín, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
It█s a crime drama that takes place in Argentina over 25 years between 1974 to 2000.
Ten years ago, there are not a lot of homeless in Córdoba.
Now it is different.
It's sad because it's a signal our economy and our society is broken.
But these crises of this situation made the Argentine... or us... more stronger.
We can resolve a lot of things with nothing.
For example, we can make a movie with a small resources.
{ birds chirp, bubbbling creek} Toma Carlos's follow up to his feature debut is a favorite short of mine, “The Water Spring.” It's tenderly made with striking visuals and stellar performances from children.
“The Water Spring” centers around nine-year-old Bernardo, who lives in the mountains with his mother.
One day, while out exploring the forest, he meets a girl his age and together they discover a secret.
This is filmed from Bernardo's point of view and to me feels like an allegory.
It reminds me of Guillermo del Toro's “Pan's Labyrinth,” an allegory for Franco's Spain, and I can't help but wonder if “The Water Spring” also has deeper meaning than the plot on screen suggests.
The colors pop with lush greens of the forest and the red of Bernardo's bike.
By the end, we find ourselves wondering is the girl real or imagined?
In the real world, Mom has to flee an abusive boyfriend and without even realizing it, Bernardo saves the day and innocence is retained.
“La Vertiente” en realidad surge un poco sobre ciertos recuerdos que yo tenía de de cuando era niño.
Yo tenía un amigo cuando cuando era chico que tenía una casa en el campo, muy cerquita de donde finalmente filmamos muchas de nuestras vacaciones de verano, él y su familia solían invitarme a ir a pasar el tiempo ahí y era muy interesante porque esa era una casa perdida realmente en la montaña, y había una serie de bosques alrededor y... solíamos ir a recorrerlos solos, y eso era como una especie de aventura.
Y había uno que le habían por el nombre El Bosque de los Enanitos.
Y había como una especie de leyenda en que eso era un bosque mágico.
Y esos recuerdos los resignifiqué y los reelaboré a partir de una historia de ficción, el lugar en el cual transcurre, que es, bueno una zona particular de las montañas de Córdoba, y aparte esta cuestión de la relación de amistad que a veces existe entre los niños y cómo a veces uno cuando es niño simplemente necesita de un amigo para poder sobrellevar ciertas ciertas cosas que te suceden en tu vida.
No?
algunas pueden ser un poco más trágicas y otras simplemente cosas de tu de tu vida diaria, ¿No?
Qué haces aca?
la cuido Is the.. friend... Is the girl real or is she imagined?
No es una imaginación de su mente, sí, sí, sí, es un amigo que se inventó para poder transitar ese esa situación tan dramática que está viviendo y tan particular junto a junto a su madre.
A veces uno no tiene la posibilidad de tener un amigo, entonces por ahí se lo termina inventando, construyendo.
Y es un poco también lo que me interesaba de ese momento es representar en cierta manera cuando uno se hace grande, cuando uno crece y deja de ser niño.
¿Es una frase muy común acá Argentina, que es Hubo un día en el que fue el último día en el que vos fuiste a buscar a tu amigo en el barrio para ir a jugar y en ese momento es como bueno, ese perdió esa inocencia de la n One thing you talked about, was that you kind of put yourself in the films through symbols or through people that you place in the films, like little homages to your own personal life.
Can you briefly tell me about that again?
En “La Vertiente” el oso de peluche del personaje era el oso de peluche que yo tenía cuando era niño.
El estar yo presente como algún extra en “Los Hipócritas” era de alguna manera también yo ser parte de esa fiesta, como lo fuí en algunas otras, en algunos otros momentos, otros aspectos, por ejemplo, la canción que suena en Los Hipócritas es una canción que escribió mi abuela, también me pareció como una especie de homenaje hacia ella.
♪♪ Lo que me diste ayer ♪♪ ♪♪ si así amé las flores querrán saber ♪♪ ♪♪ que tu me quieres como nunca ha de ser ♪♪ A leading director of Argentine cinema is Lucrecia Martel, whose films frequent Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and other prestigious festivals.
Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and other prestigious festivals.
She has become an influential source for Carlos's generation of filmmakers.
Born in Salta, her breakout feature was “La Ciénaga,” translated to “The Swamp.” Described as a “portrait of bourgeois complacency,” “La Ciénaga” is recognized less for a plot and more for its striking cinematography and essential sound design.
Martel's films have a way of not saying things.
We experience the lives of the characters.
Not given any context, we just go along with them and piece it together little by little.
It's a small entry into their worlds.
“La Ciénaga” has a fascinating opening.
We only see the waste downs of the adult characters stumbling drunk, apathetic people who hate themselves and each other.
“La Ciénaga” was followed up by “The Holy Girl,” “The Headless Woman” and “Zama” In 2025, Martel released a documentary, “Nuestra Tierra” or “Our Land,” which follows the murder of indigenous leader Javier Chocobar from the Chuschagasta community, who was killed while protecting the land.
The film, by covering the long delayed trial, which took nine years after the murder to bring to a court, traces this legacy of colonialism.
My favorite film from Argentina is “A Family Submerged,” directed by María Alché, who was an actress in Lucrecia Martel's “A Holy Girl.” My favorite types of films tend to be the ones that make me feel.
Stylistically similar to the films of Martel, “A Family Submerged” is more dreamlike.
It takes you through a week in the life of a woman who's a mother of three, a wife and a grieving sister.
She's cleaning out her recently deceased sister's home and falls in love with a man who knew her daughter from a party.
It's a beautiful connection they form.
Somewhat silently.
And the ease in which they move about their life together until they don't.
By the end, her husband returns home from a business trip and all goes back to normal.
Actually, it's hard to put into words.
It's seamless.
Carlos and I sat down together over a large, delicious meal and discussed his love for academia and teaching.
I wanted you to talk about how you became a professor.
Mi mamá es maestra en el colegio, era maestra de música en el colegio primario.
Mi papá es profesor universitario, pero él es veterinario y daba las clases de veterinaria y cuando yo era adolescente en el secundario, mis compañeros y mis amigos solían venir a mi casa para que yo les enseñara o los ayudara a estudiar.
No concibo ser sólo profesor y tampoco concibo ser sólo realizador audiovisual.
Cuando yo soy realizador audiovisual, aprendo para dar clases y cuando yo doy clases aprendo para ser realizador audiovisual.
Entonces para mí es una como una simbiosis, digamos, como que va de la mano.
So what█s next for you?
What are you working on now?
Or what do you hope to direct next?
En este momento estoy trabajando dos proyectos que son bastante distintos.
Uno tiene que ver con mi relación con el atardecer y lo que puedo ver a través de mi ventana, es un proyecto mucho más íntimo, chiquito y de cierta manera experimental y que trata, bueno, básicamente sobre eso, sobre mi vínculo con el atardecer y las cosas que me recuerda el atardecer.
What█s the name of it?
The series of my romantic life.
{ laughing and clapping } I have an idea it█s like a TV series and every episode is about one date I have, mostly it doesn█t work, [ Stephanie ] So this is a reality TV show?
Mostly, it doesn█t work every date.
So, but it█s not a biography.
It█s a TV series.
What do you desire the most for yourself in your life?
Mi mayor deseo es ser feliz.
En cualquier, en cualquier aspecto, ya sea profesional, personal.
Creo que si uno no es feliz, todas las otras cosas no tienen, no tienen mucho sentido.
Puedo ser feliz haciendo mi trabajo.
Puedo ser feliz con mi familia, con mis amigos.
Puedo ser feliz cuando doy clases.
Obviamente que después tengo muchos otros deseos o aspiraciones en mi vida, desde poder filmar otras películas más, quizás películas tengan éxito, tener reconocimiento con esas películas, pero creo que todo eso es vacío si no tengo lo otro.
What do you hope for the future of Argentina?
También deseo que...que Argentina pueda ser feliz y que los argentinos o las personas que viven en Argentina puedan puedan ser, podamos ser felices también.
Y que toda esta situación de crisis, crisis económica no?, que, que vivimos casi de forma constante de alguna de alguna buena vez termine y que nos permita en cierta manera liberarnos y crecer en muchos aspectos, no solamente crecer en el aspecto económico, sino también crecer como sociedad.
Básicamente eso creo que se resume más o menos lo mismo que quiero para mi vida, que es lo que quiero para para mi país y para y para bueno, el resto de de las personas que viven acá.
So often we filmmakers are such serious characters.
We wear the weight of the world on our shoulders to try to tell an “important” story.
We can be dark and brooding, uncovering the “despair” we discover all around us.
What a refreshing surprise it was to meet Carlos.
He's a filmmaker with a keen observation on the human condition, whose stories are incredibly poignant.
Yet he lights up the world around him with his earnest, heartfelt, joyful disposition.
It's infectious.
Visiting Carlos in Córdoba reminds me of the beautiful things all around us.
The soulful sounds of cuarteto.
Drinking maté in the park with friends, the sumptuous tastes of alfajores and soaking up a sunset at day's end.
If ever I'm feeling down, I think of Carlos.
That smile.
Those good intentions.
And I aim to spread his cheer to the world over.
Let's set his creative spark ablaze like the sunsets he so admires.
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