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Film Studies: National Cinemas

This guide highlights selected resources for various national cinemas.

Introduction to Argentinian cinema

Notwithstanding its turbulent history Argentina’s film industry, alongside those of Brazil and Mexico, has been among the most robust in Latin America. Moving images were first seen in Argentina at a screening of the Lumière Cinématographe in Buenos Aires on 18 July 1896. There was a large and cosmopolitan potential audience for films, and local filmmakers soon began producing newsreels, documentaries, and vignettes of local scenes. An early—possibly the earliest—Argentine feature film was a historical epic, El fusilamiento de Dorrego/The Execution of Dorrego (1910); while an early commercial success, and the first of many popular gaucho films, Nobleza gaucha/Gaucho Nobility, appeared in 1915. The most celebrated director of Argentina’s silent period was José Agustín Ferreyra (‘El Negro’), whose films were set in the suburbs and city of Buenos Aires, and highlighted the lives of the poor.  ...

Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2020). Argentina, film in. In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 May. 2021

Searching the online catalog

This page is a library guide to the cinema of Argentina. You can use the subject headings below to find resources in the online catalog. The call number ranges are also included. You can do the same subject search for other countries in South America using the same format, "motion pictures [insert country]."

Please note: these are not the only call numbers, but they have the majority of items. These searches will also lead you to movie titles.

Introductory reading(s)

Selected book titles

Finding journal articles

Articles and other writings about Argentine films can be found in many publications. Our collection includes one journal which looks exclusively at Argentine cinema and several other journals which look at Spanish language films. You can use Film & Television Literature Index to find articles or use the search box at the top of the page.

Selected movie titles

Find more Argentinian films in the online catalog.

Internet resource(s)