Zerda's Children

An experimental film documentary of a playful little girl exploring nature.

COCHENGO MIRANDA is a portrait of a farmer and his family living in the Pampas region of Central Argentina. Made by Jorge Preloran, Argentina's best-known documentary filmmaker, the film is an example of his unique genre of ethnobiography, in which the story of an individual reveals larger truths about a culture and way of life.

It deals with traditions related to cattle and horses as well as changes in the agricultural economy in the region of the Sierras de Elizonda , in the Sierras de Valle Fértil , on the way to Valle de la Luna in the province of San Juan

Version re-edited from film of same title released in 1967 and shot in 1966. Easter weekend market in Yavi, a small town in Jujuy Province, Argentina, along the border with Bolivia.

Gleyzer’s first color film was his final collaboration with his old classmate Jorge Prelorán, who preferred a less polemical approach to documenting poverty. QUILINO details the Cordoba villagers’ reliance on the railroad that brings them customers from the cities, and the looming likelihood that the route will be shut down.

IMAGINERO is an ethnobiography of Hermogenes Cayo, a self-taught woodcarver and painter who lives on the high Andean plateau of Argentina. The film portrays Hermogenes, his wife Aurelia Kilpe, and their children in their Andean lifestyle, as well as Hermogenes' passion for painting, carving, building, and his devotion to the Virgin Mary. Devout, austere and dedicated to craftsmanship, he can make anything from religious figures carved from cactus wood to a working harmonium. Inspired by a trip to Buenos Aires to advocate for land rights, Hermogenes has labored to replicate the style of the capital's grand cathedral and shrine to the Virgin with resourcefulness and skill.

Two women are torn between the past, with its traditions and apparent security, and the future full of uncertainty.

Ethnographic film by Jorge Preloran presents a portrait of a well-preserved colonial church in the small town of Yavi, Jujuy Province, Argentina. A voice over narration by Zenaida Wayar, the church's caretaker for over forty years, provides the history of the church and the region.

This three-part documentary on Indian peasant life in the Catamarca region of Argentina is an emotionally moving examination of the generational cycle of poverty in underdeveloped countries.

Portrait of Luther Metke, a Spanish American War veteran, poet, philosopher, and log-cabin maker, aged 94 at the time of filming. In voice over narration drawn from interviews, Metke recites his own poetry and talks about his life and his philosophy. Includes footage of Metke building a six-sided cabin, being interviewed by a local TV news station, and visiting with his family. Oscar nominated documentary short in 1980.

A short film, based on a novel by Gayl Jones. The film treats a black woman, Eva, who kills her lover. She refuses to speak to a white psychiatrist who questions her about her motives, so he leaves her with a tape recorder to confide in. In flashbacks, we see the abuse Eva suffered at the hands of a husband and two lovers.

Edited documentary film by Jorge Preloran presents a portrait of the children of a small rural school in Chucalezna, in Humahuaca Canyon, Jujuy Province, Argentina. In addition to working in the fields and attending their classes, the children paint. Their colorful depictions of the life and landscape of Chucalezna, painted on donated paper tacked to the exterior walls of the school, have garnered international recognition. Filmed in October 1966. Produced at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán with assistance from the Fondo Nacional de las Artes.

Through soft landscape images of Tilcara, accompanied only by music, Medardo Pantoja, known as "the painter of the Quebrada de Humahuaca", in Jujuy, allows us to access the mysteries of that region.