Lucrecia Martel

Documentary that gathers the testimonies of more than twenty contemporary Argentine film directors. Through interviews, filmmakers from different generations and tendencies reflect on the craft of directing, creative difficulties, and the challenges of the local industry. The diversity of voices ranges from established figures to representatives of the new Argentine cinema, offering a panorama of the different ways of conceiving and practicing filmmaking.

An abandoned tumbledown theater in the outback of Paraíba state is the initial setting of a film about cinema, which explores the testimonials of the novelist and playwright Ariano Suassuna and other filmmakers such as Ruy Guerra, Julio Bressane, Ken Loach, Andrzej Wajda, Karim Ainouz, José Padilha, Hector Babenco, Vilmos Zsigmond, Béla Tarr, Gus Van Sant and Jia Zhangke. They all respond to two basic questions: why do they make movies and why do they serve the seventh art. The filmmakers share their thoughts about time, narrative, rhythm, light, movement, the meaning of tragedy, the audience‘s desires and the boundaries with other forms of art.

Downtown Recife’s classic movie palaces from the 20th century are mostly gone. That city area is now an archaeological site of sorts that reveals aspects of life in society which have been lost. And that’s just part of the story.

ZAMA (2017, Lucrecia Martel) didn’t come alone. It brought with her a shooting journal written by Selva Almada –El mono en el remolino– and this documentary by Manuel Abramovich, who, as a sound intruder, captured the meticulous work of the director from Salta and the warm, human, joyful precision.