Bolivian Cinema
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |
Bolivia's Prominent Filmmakers
Fernando Arze Echalar: (b. 1972, La Paz)
Actor, writer of theater and film scripts and theatre director, currently venturing into film direction. Echalar is know as a script writer for The Goalkeeper (2018) and as an actor in The River (2018) and La Entrega (2018). For more information visit his website.
Daniela Cajías: (b. 1981, La Paz)
Cinematographer/ Director of Photography. Daniela studied at the Escuela de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (ECA) and at Cuba’s San Antonio de los Baños’ International School of Film and Television. In 2021 she became first female cinematographer to win Goya Award for Best Cinematography for the film Schoolgirls.
​
More about Daniela Cajías:
Cinema Tropical, Pagina Siete in Bolivia
Interview with Daniela Cajias by RTVE:
Alejandro Loayza Grisi: (b. 1985, La Paz)
Film director and photographer. His debut feature film, Utama, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022, where it won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Dramatic Competition. Alejandro began his artistic career in still photography and later transitioned to the moving image as a director of photography. Attracted by stories that can be described visually through the creation of images, he ventured into screenwriting and film directing.
​
More about Alejandro Loayza Grisi:
Meet the Artist: Alejandro Loayza Grisi on "Utama":
Awards received, At the 25th Malaga Film Festival in Spain, Interview by "Sounds and Colors",
​
Marcos Loayza: (b. 1959, La Paz)
Film director, screenwriter, producer, founder of the production company ALMA Films, and cartoonist. Marcos is considered an outstanding Latin American filmmaker, and his films have been considered among the best Latin productions that have won various international awards and recognitions. In 1995, Cuestión de Fe won the OCIC Award - Honorable Mention at the Amiens International FF, the Special Jury Prize at the Biarritz International Festival of Latin American Cinema, Coral Best First Work, and OCIC Award - Special Mention at the Havana FF; in 1996 won the Golden India Catalina Best First Work award at the Cartagena FF, the FIPRESCI Prize - Special Mention at the International FF Rotterdam, and Special Mention at the Trieste Festival of Latin-American Cinema; and in 1997 won the First Work Award International Competition at the Uruguay International FF. In 2004, with El Corazón de Jesús won the Special Jury Prize at the Bogota FF. In 2018, Averno won the Best Local Film/ Best Latin American Film at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema and the Special Jury Award/ Latin Film Competition (Longa Metragem em 35mm, Latinos) at the Gramado Film Festival.
​
More about Marcos Loayza:
Wins & Nominations, Biofilmografía by Ibermedia, Films as a Director, Screenwriter and a Producer, Drawings
Rodrigo "Gory" Patiño: (b. 1975, La Paz)
Actor, screenwriter, and director. Gory made his directorial debut in 2018 with La Muralla/ The Goalkeeper, a film with which he received the Argentores Best Screenplay Award at the Cine de Las Alturas Film Festival. This film also represented Bolivia at the 2019 Academy Awards and was selected for several film festivals, such as Guadalajara, Vancouver, San Francisco Havann, and Gramado. His second feature, Pseudo, co-directed and co-written with Luis Reneo, participated at the Havanna Film Festival, Gramado, San Francisco, and Ternium. In Sept 2024, Gory Patiño directed his third film, Mano Propia, which was selected to represent Bolivia at the 2025 Academy Awards.
​
More about Gory Patiño:
Gory Patiño, Claudia Gaensel and Roberto Navia win the 2024 National Award 'Granja de Espejos' by Nómadas Magazine
Mano propia representará a Bolivia en los Premios Oscar by Los Tiempos Newspaper
​​​
Kiro Ruso: (b. 1984, La Paz)
Film director, editor, screenwriter, and sound designer. Kiro is known for building a cinema of profound cinematic, political, and sonorous experiences that question the limits of cinematographic language and rescue old traditions to rediscover and reinterpret them. He started making three short films: Enterprisse (2010), Juku (2012), which won the Short Film Grand Prize Award at the IndieLisboa International Independent FF in 2012, and Nueva Vida/ New Life (2015), which won Best European Documentary Short at the Jihlava International Documentary FF and Special Mention - Leopards of Tomorrow/ International Competition at the Locarno FF.
In 2016, Kiro Russo made his feature directorial debut with Viejo Calavera/ Dark Skull, which was selected in more than 80 festivals and won 23 awards, including the Special Mention of the Jury in Locarno in 2016, the Grand Prize in Cartagena FF, and the Special Mention in San Sebastián FF. His second feature film, El Gran Movimiento/ The Grand Movement (2021), was shot in Super 16mm in La Paz and won the Orizzonti Special Jury Award at the 78th Venice International FF. Since its premiere in Venice, El Gran Movimiento has been invited to 20 festivals, including San Sebastian, NYFF, and IFFR, and has won 10 awards.
​
More about Kiro Russo:
Wins & Nominations, Films as a Director, Screenwriter and a Producer
5 Movies That Inspired Me to Become a Filmmaker
Juku Short:
For more information about other prominent Bolivia's filmmakers, click here (frombolivia.com)
Bolivian Featured Films
Wara Wara (1930) ​​​
This film is José María Velasco Maidana's masterpiece as a filmmaker. For its time, it was the equivalent of a modern-day super-production, with specially built sets, costumes, and a cast of actors recruited from the finest artists and intellectuals of Bolivia at the time. Wara Wara was also the last silent film in Bolivian cinema. (Source: Alfonso Gumucio Dragon).
More about this film:
Wara Wara_frombolivia.com​​​
Vuelve Sebastiana (1953) ​​​
Semi-documentary short film (28min), directed by Jorge Ruiz and Augusto Roca, depicting the daily life of the ancient Chipaya community settled in Carangas, Oruro, in the Bolivian highlands. It was the first Bolivian film to receive an international award in the Ethnographic – Folkloric Film category.
​More about this film:
Vuelve Sebastiana_frombolivia.com
Full Movie in Spanish:
​
Ukamau (1966) ​​​
Drama film directed by Jorge Sanjinés and the first Bolivian film made in the Aymara indigenous language. Ukamau is a word that later became the name of the filmmakers’ group that Sanjines founded, which means 'And So It Is'.
​
More about this film: Ukamau_frombolivia.com
Yawar Mallku (Blood of the Condor) (1969)
Directed by Jorge Sanjinés, it is a film inspired by true events that took place in a Bolivian community. The film won several awards, including the Georges Sadoul Prize in France for Best Foreign Film and the Golden Ruder Award at the Venice FF. In 1970, it received the Golden Spike Award for Best Film at the Valladolid International FF. In 1992,UNESCO selected it as one of the 100 best films produced worldwide.
La Nación Clandestina (The Secret Nation) (1989)
Directed by Jorge Sanjinés. “It raises the cultural identity of a nation, the Bolivian nation, as a topic of discussion” (frombolivia.com). Awards won in 1989: Concha de Oro for Best Film at the San Sebastián FF and the Special Jury Prize and Glauber Rocha prize at the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema.
​​​​
Other Short films:
Extranjeros (Foreigners) (2020) - Fernando Arze Echalar
Volivia (2015) - Sergio Pinedo
El olor de Tu Ausencia (Smell of Absence) (2010) - Eddy Vasquez
​
Additional information on Bolivian Cinematography
​Cinemateca Boliviana: cultural institution dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and exhibition of Bolivian cinema and audiovisual heritage. The Cinemateca Boliviana plays an essential role in preserving the country's cinematic history, supporting the development of film culture, and showcasing both classic and contemporary Bolivian films.
​
History of Bolivian Cinema:
​
- Chronological history of Bolivian cinema (source frombolivia.com)
​
- Bolivian Cinema Day (frombolivia.com)
- Breve Historia del cine Boliviano (Brief History of Bolivian Cinema) by Alfonso Gumucio Dragon.
- La Aventura del Cine Boliviano (The Adventure of Bolivian Cinema) from the Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert Virtual Library: "The paths of Bolivian cinema are those of a great adventure, of heroes who were willing to give everything in the name of creation, in search of dreams, behind the illusion of leaving for their contemporaries and for us the mark of our gaze capable of building an identity. Here is the story of those men and women, of scripts, editing of moving images, actors, composers, and directors who made the works of this fascinating transit, and those who were willing to finance our cinema. From 1897 to today, more than a hundred feature films and thousands of short and medium-length films have made this adventure possible."​
​
La Aventura del Cine Boliviano - 1st part video
La Aventura del Cine Boliviano -2nd part video
​
- Award-winning Bolivian Films in Over a Century of History by frombolivia
​
- Memorias de un Cine Sublevado (Memories of a Rebellious Cinema) book by Bolivian filmmaker Jorge Sanjines A.
​​
- Fundación Grupo Ukamau: This Foundation's mission is to preserve the Ukamau Group's cinematic works, promote them to national and international audiences, and encourage their study and understanding. As part of their general objective, they aim to train artists, professionals, academics, audiovisual workers, students, and/or individuals to develop their creativity and talent in various audiovisual fields. To this end, they run 'The Escuela Andina de Cinematografía' with educational programs.
​
Other sources:
Ongoing and Upcoming Film Events