Film Research in Argentina

OUBIÑA, DAVID

The Sage Handbook of Film Studies

Sage Publications

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2008; p. 87 - 95

Throughout the twentieth century, Argentine audiences had an intense cinematographic experience. The first films arrived in the country a few months after the Lumière´s exhibition at the Grand Café des Boulevard des Capucines. From 1897, Eugenio Py and Max Glücksmann used this invention to record newsreels or documentaries, and in 1909, Mario Gallo made the first fiction film. However, from its very beginning, cinema was considered solely as entertainment for the populace. Thus, it needed a rather long time to acquire its own aesthetic essence and shape itself into a cultural product worthy of attention. In Argentina, there is no tradition of film research. The Fundación Cinemateca Argentina (founded in 1945) and the Museo del Cine (founded in 1971) have meager and poorly preserved archives. Academic studies are still too young and the first graduate students just finished their studies in the last years (there are practically no doctoral theses in the field). Instead, it should be noted that there´s a notable increase in filmmaking students, in the exploration of alternative film poetics, as well as a scattered yet dynamic interest in cine clubs, festivals of independent cinema and magazines. The article traces the development of film studies in Argentina. Special attention is given to the last decades, since 1950: the emergence of the notion of authorship, mise en scéne, political cinema, cinema during the military dictatorship and the opening of departments of film studies after the democratic restoration. The research scenario is still in an early and disorderly condition, though it shows some promising signs for the future. Even when the few publishing houses that put out film books largely deal with translations or imported writings from Spain, works that study Argentine cinema from multiple directions are starting to surface. There´s the critical revision of past cinema, studies on the oeuvre of a specific director, different kinds of dictionaries (on films, filmmakers, actresses, magazines), and attempts to interpret the poetics of the new cinema. Still, Argentine cinema is a territory to be conquered. But these filmographic maps outline diverse itineraries for an exploration that has definitely been set in motion.