Latin American Documentary Film in the New Millennium PDF
Preview Latin American Documentary Film in the New Millennium
Latin American Documentary Film in the New Millennium Edited by María Guadalupe Arenillas and Michael J. Lazzara Latin American Documentary Film in the New Millennium María G uadalupe A renillas • M ichael J. L azzara Editors Latin American Documentary Film in the New Millennium Editors María Guadalupe Arenillas Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Northern Michigan University Marquette, Michigan, USA Michael J. Lazzara Department of Spanish and Portuguese University of California, Davis Davis, California, USA ISBN 978-1-137-49522-8 ISBN 978-1-137-49523-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-49523-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016944748 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2 016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: @ Joao Moreira Salles Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc. New York A CKNOWLEDGMENTS An edited book, in so many ways, is more than the sum of its parts. Behind it are a series of experiences (played out over many years) that give birth to an idea, a group of dedicated authors, a publisher willing to take a risk, and a support network of family and friends who help keep us grounded and send us good vibes to weather the process. Among the lessons this book has taught us is that many documentary fi lms are a search for origins: exploratory journeys into the past. In that vein, the impetus that marks the beginning of any project is, in a sense, a fi ction, an arbitrary point (or points) in time to which we assign a name and attribute signifi cance. Here are our fi ctions: One of the fi rst theoretical concepts that Lupe learned in college was the Russian formalist idea of o stranenie (defamiliarization): to look at common things differently so as to unleash the richness and complexity of what once seemed simple or familiar. Learning this idea helped her appre- ciate certain things about art—and about life. More deeply attuned to the strangeness within the real, she grew fascinated by documentary fi lm’s intriguing textures, by the conventions it deploys to feign objectivity or destroy it. Certain directors played signifi cant roles in cultivating this love for the defamiliarizing gaze: Jim Jarmusch, Martín Rejtman, and Godard, among others. But it wasn’t until graduate school at the University of Notre Dame that Lupe fully savored documentary’s ability to open other worlds and alter the ways in which we’re trained to see. In 2008, Dr. Isabel Ferreira Gould invited Portuguese fi lmmaker Pedro Costa to screen his work. Costa’s visit was tense and riddled with accusations: he claimed that U.S. students from private institutions were incapable of understanding v vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS certain realities. These accusations, however, paled in comparison to the pleasant surprise of discovering his cinema. His protagonists, marginalized youth and immigrants from Africa’s former Portuguese colonies, live their “lot,” to recall Jacques Ranciere’s phrase, as their destiny. Embodying ostranenie , Costa’s camera paused on everyday faces and objects to pro- duce “the occasion for a beautiful still life.” Michael’s fi ction of origin is somewhat different. Although his research on the politics of memory always made him aware of documentary’s tes- timonial aspects and its defi ance of master narratives, it wasn’t until he attended a public screening of Patricio Guzmán’s L a batalla de Chile at Princeton in 2002 that he fully appreciated documentary as a way to chronicle history. He had seen that fi lm many times before, but that day there was something unique about watching it in public, uninterrupted; he was able to palpate differently the political passions and tensions of the euphoric and embattled Allende years. Watching the documentary was the closest he could come to “being there”; to this day, Guzmán fi lm remains the best “document” we have of that crucial period in history. The fi lm was screened as part of the Princeton Documentary Festival (2002–2009), founded by Ricardo Piglia, with artistic direction by Andrés Di Tella. Attending the festival and meeting directors from Latin America height- ened Michael’s appreciation for the diversity of Latin American documen- tary fi lm, particularly for how the “social documentary” was giving way to other aesthetics and styles: the autobiographical, the refl exive, fi lms about memory, indigenous fi lms, hybrid or experimental forms, or c ine piquet- ero . At Princeton, not only did Michael discover classic works by masters like Solanas and Getino or Eduardo Coutinho, but also fi lms by younger directors who were pushing the conversation in new directions: Di Tella, João Moreira Salles, Albertina Carri, and others. Since then, documentary has remained central to his research and pedagogy. Lupe would like to thank several people without whose support this book would not have been possible: Mariela Eva Rodríguez, Mara Pastor, Alex Ruuska, Alisa Kirchharr, and Rebecca J. Ulland. She is also grate- ful to her parents and siblings for the Polaroids, Super-8 movies, and the three- thousand kilometer car trips through the Patagonian wilder- ness. Her family, years ago, taught her the value of creating a personal archive to inspire acts of storytelling and memory. Finally, Lupe thanks her two beautiful children, Marco and Clara, for the inspiration they give her every day. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii Michael, too, would like to acknowledge a number of people who have inspired him both personally and professionally. First and foremost, he is grateful to Andrés Di Tella for years of dialogue. Andrés’s workshops at Princeton and UC Davis were defi ning moments, as was the lengthy interview that Andrés accepted to do with Michael’s students in 2006. The interview explored themes that Michael fi rst discovered by reading the inspirational work of Princetonian friends and colleagues Paul Firbas and Pedro Meira Monteiro. Another formative moment came at Stanford in 2009 when Jorge Ruffi nelli organized a memorable symposium called “El Documental Personal” (The Personal Documentary). Several days at Stanford brought conversations and new relationships with Latin American fi lmmakers and academics like João Moreira Salles, Albertina Carri, María Inés Roqué, Marilú Mallet, Sandra Kogut, and Leonor Arfuch (whose inaugural lecture opened Michael’s eyes to “the biographical space” in contemporary culture). Particular thanks go to Michael’s undergraduate and graduate students who have passionately participated in several courses on documentary at UC Davis: Yana DeLange, Ikuska Sanz, Tania Lizarazo, and Sergio Díaz- Luna are among those who taught him to see new layers in fi lmic expres- sion. He also thanks his UC Davis colleagues; Darcie Doll, who graciously hosted the 2010 seminar on documentary he taught at the University of Chile; and his parents, Jim and Ginny Lazzara, who have believed in him every step of the way. But most of all, Michael is immensely grateful to his wife Julia and his darling Ana and James, without whom nothing he does could be. Together, the editors are grateful to Emily Davidson and Mari Spira, compañeras de ruta , and to each other for years of friendship, conversa- tion, patience, and inspiration. We are thankful as well to our contributing authors for all they have taught us about Latin American documen- tary and for their good humor throughout the sometimes painstakingly tedious editing process. Producing this book has truly been an experience of collaborative thinking and learning. Lastly, we express our gratitude to Farideh Koohi-Kamali and Sara Doskow, our editors at Palgrave, for believing in our project and guiding us through the publication process, and to Andrés Di Tella, María Inés Roqué, Albertina Carri, and João Moreira Salles for generously sharing images to illustrate our book. After three years of hard work, we are delighted fi nally to share this project with the world. C ONTENTS 1 Introduction: Latin American Documentary Film in the New Millennium 1 María Guadalupe Arenillas and M ichael J. Lazzara Part I T he Subjective Turn and Beyond 2 1 2 What Remains of Third Cinema? 2 3 Michael J. Lazzara 3 Andrés Di Tella and Argentine Documentary Film 4 3 Jorge Ruffi nelli 4 Displacing the “I”: Uses of the First Person in Recent Argentine Biographical Documentaries 63 Antonio Gómez 5 The “Mobility Turn” in Contemporary Latin American First-Person Documentary 7 9 Pablo Piedras ix
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