Early Cinema
The first Uruguayan film was made by director Félix Oliver. After buying a cinematograph from the Lumière brothers, he made the short film Carrera de bicicletas en el velódromo de Arroyo Seco in the early twentieth century. Considered the first film in South America, it is now preserved in the Uruguayan Film Archive. However, Argentina soon surpassed the local production, and the majority of the films shown in the country came from the neighboring country's film industry. It was not until 1923 that the first national feature film was released, by doctor turned filmmaker Juan Antonio Borges. Almas de la Costa, shot mostly in natural settings on the coast of Montevideo, tells the story of two lovers who are tragically separated by illness. The film was considered lost, but was later found and restored, and excerpts from it can now be seen online, as it celebrates its centenary in 2023.
After a period of dearth during the 1930s and early 1940s, new Argentine and Uruguayan investments helped revive the local film industry. The Argentine filmmaker Julio Saraceni, after having made his debut in short films, found success in Uruguay with films such as Alma de bohemio (1949). During his career, he will direct more than sixty feature films between the two countries, as well as numerous collaborations with artists and stars from both sides of the border. In parallel to these fictions, Uruguayan filmmakers capture the different realities through the documentary, often simpler and less expensive to produce. Taking up the founding myth of Uruguay, filmmaker Miguel Ángel Mellino made El desembarco los 33 orientales in 1952, with government support. In the 1960s, it was Mario Handler's turn to take up the torch of documentary, with pamphlets such as Carlos, cine-retrato de un "caminante" en Montevideo (1965) or Elecciones with Ugo Ulive (1967). Forced into exile in 1972, he left for Venezuela where he continued his career. A founding member of the Cinemateca del Tercer Mundo, a group of committed South American filmmakers, he returned to Uruguay at the end of the 1990s and became a professor of cinema at the University of the Republic in Montevideo.
Handler's exile cut off the momentum of freedom that was then blowing through Uruguayan cinema. In the years that followed, filmmakers confined themselves to less political subjects, at least until the end of the dictatorial years. It was not until the early 2000s that a new wind blew over Uruguayan cinema. In 2003, Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll won the FIPRESCI prize and the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival with Whisky, a black comedy with an atypical trio. A few years earlier, with 25 Watts , the same duo of filmmakers gathered crowds around the story of three young people living in the suburbs of Montevideo, before winning the Best Film Award at the Rotterdam Festival, then at the Havana Festival. More recently, Uruguayan cinema has also developed in animation with Anina (2013), which won the Audience Award at the Buenos Aires Festival. Today, productions and co-productions are on the rise, and the Uruguay International Film Festival provides an annual opportunity to discover the cinematic diversity of the country.
Captivating shootings in the Uruguayan lands
Despite the country's magnificent landscapes, it is mainly the cities of Uruguay that have recently attracted international filming, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Montevideo was the setting for two major films of 2006, Alfonso Cuaron's Son of Man and Michael Mann's Miami Vice . If the first is a dystopian fresco, depicting the end of humanity with as much talent as sadness, which uses little of the Uruguayan capital, the second highlights the country through many scenes. The Old City of Montevideo is used to represent the old neighborhoods of Havana, and we can also recognize the buildings of Atlántida behind the house of Isabella, played by the Chinese actress Gong Li. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, the duo behind the film, could also be seen in Punta del Este. In 2020, and to boost a production still strongly competed by the Brazilian and Argentine industries, the government granted new tax cuts to big international studios. The series Conquest, produced by Keanu Reeves for Netflix, was shot for a large part of its production in Montevideo. But due to lack of funding, it was never completed. However, other projects are still attracted to this region, and no doubt Uruguay will soon reappear on your screens in one way or another.
Seeing movies in Uruguay
In Montevideo, you will be spoiled for choice between the different movie theaters of the city. From the large complexes of the LIFE Cinemas group to the Cinemateca Uruguaya, moviegoers will have the opportunity to discover the latest Hollywood productions as well as Spanish and international films of yesterday and today. Surfing to the website of the National Cinematheque, you will be able to learn more about the history of the country's cinema, browse through excerpts of archival films, but also enjoy a very current program of art house works. This institution is also one of the organizers of the Festival Cinematográfico Internacional del Uruguay, held in the capital since 1982. By participating in this event, you will have the opportunity to preview the best of contemporary Uruguayan short films, as well as many other nuggets that are sure to surprise you. European, Latin American and other films are also part of this wide selection that rewards young rising stars as well as films that highlight the most current issues. If you wish to attend, plan your stay around the end of April.
