Latest awarded Bolivia's Films and Filmmakers
CBAT is proud to celebrate
2022 Sundance Film Festival
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Winner
ALEJANDRO LOAYZA GRISI
for the Film 'UTAMA' !
"Writer-director Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s achingly beautiful feature debut is a meditation on legacy, loss, and change. Encapsulated in his portrait of pastoral Bolivian life is an urgent message on behalf of a planet whose climate is shifting at an increasingly unnatural pace, a plea for the world we leave behind for future generations to inherit." by Kate Small, Festival Manager. Read full article.
imdb.com
More about this Film and its director:
Meet the Artist: Alejandro Loayza Grisi on "Utama"
Bolivian Debut Feature ‘Utama’ Drives Home Impact of Climate Change by Variety
‘Utama’: Film Review - Sundance 2022 by The Hollywood Reporter
'Utama' gana el Gran Premio del Jurado en la sección World Dramatic del Festival Sundance 2022 by El Deber
Daniela Cajías: (b. in La Paz, 1981) Cajías 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."
See more about Daniela: at Cinema Tropical, Pagina Siete in Bolivia
Interview with Daniela Cajias by RTVE.
"Schoolgirls" Trailer
Bolivian Prominent Filmmakers
Fernando Arze Echalar: (b. La Paz, 1972) 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 webpage.
Marcos Loayza: (b. La Paz, 1959) Film director and scriptwriter; founder of the production company ALMA films. He is considered an outstanding Latin American filmmaker by various critics and publications, and his films have been considered among the best Latin productions in various selections, publications, exhibitions and anthologies and have been deserving of various international awards and recognitions. Marcos studied Architecture in La Paz at the UMSA and cinema at the International Film and Video School of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba; he was a student of Alfredo Bryce Echenique, Jean-Claude Carrière and José Sanchis Siniestra. He is also a cartoonist.
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To learn more about Carlos Loayza and his work: Biofilmografía de Marcos Loayza, Films & Documentaries, Drawings
For more information about other prominent Bolivia's filmmakers, click here (frombolivia.com)
Bolivian Films
Chaco (2020) - a historical fiction set in the Chaco War and directed by Diego Mondaca. Was selected as Bolivia's contender for the 93rd edition of the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature competition
Tu Me Manques (2019) - Rodrigo Bellott
The GoalKeeper (2018) - Rodrigo "Gory" Patiño
Dark Skull (2017) - Kiro Russo
Carga Sellada (Sealed Cargo) (2016) - Julia Vargas Weise
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Short films
Extranjeros (Foreigners) (2020) - Fernando Arze Echalar
Volivia (2015) - Sergio Pinedo
El olor de Tu Ausencia (Smell of Absence) (2010) - Eddy Vasquez
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Links with more 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.
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History of Bolivian Cinema:
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- Chronological history of Bolivian cinema (source frombolivia.com)
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- 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 - Primera parte (1st part video)
La Aventura del Cine Boliviano - Segunda parte (2nd part video)
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- Memorias de un cine sublevado (Memories of a rebellious cinema) book by Bolivian filmmaker Jorge Sanjines A.
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Other sources:
Ongoing and Upcoming Film Events