Two figures of Argentine culture rescued by cinema

Two important figures of our culture are well remembered in two documentary records that were released this week: Sara Faciotop-level photographer, and Carlos Procopiukpioneer filmmaker from northern Patagonia. In life, she had deserved fame. He too, but only in Neuquén and surrounding areas.

From the ’50s until 2007, when he died, Procopiuk There he made more than 200 documentaries, advertising, newsreels and fictions, even westerns. At 67 he was still flying hang gliders with a camera strapped to record aerial shots of beautiful places. “I tune in with him in his passion for cinematographic work, in that sacred fire that drives you”says Diego Lumermanauthor of “Procopiuk”and adds, more specifically, “I tune in with him because we share, I believe, a love for the stories of the territory and the magic that emerges from its landscapes and its characters”.

Raised in Neuquén, Lumerman made in 2015 “Extraordinary territories”record of myths and rural legends of the Minas Department, which came out “bubbling from the mouths of old crianceros and gold seekers”. Anecdotes about that filmmaker also poured out. “That was the kickoff to enter the Procopiuk universe, a multifaceted artist, also a promoter of tango and Latin American folklore”.

“In ‘Procopiuk’ we limited ourselves to making a profile of his life related to cinema. We do not approach it as a rigorous biography but rather as an outline that allows us to play with the archive of his work, the testimonies of collaborators and friends and the only ‘behind the scenes’ recorded during the filming of one of his films. We obtained many of them through the Department of Audiovisual Media at the University of Comahue, where he worked for much of his life. Their collaborators kept that material there, they themselves made many telecines, we digitized some that were in S8 and 16 mm, and we also accessed their news programs from 1967-69 that the Neuquén Cinematheque had digitized.”.

Among the titles rescued are “The country of the wind”, “At the end of a fragile bridge” and “Nguillatun”filmed with Lorenzo Kelly in Ruca Choroy, 1972, under the influence of the master Jorge Preloran. They both admired him, especially the man from Rio Negro. Kellypartner of Procopiuk on numerous adventures.

“Many titles were left out of our cut, such as ‘The land of our children’, ‘The tree of grandparents’, ‘Journey to the heart of the towns’ and many more! As for my own work, the idea for now is to always produce local projects. “I just finished a documentary about the origin of the myth of Nahuelito and a fiction series entirely filmed in Villa El Chocón, which will surely premiere next year.”.

Sara Facio

The life of Sara Facio It is -supposedly- better known. Graduated from the National School of Fine Arts, one year on a scholarship in Europe, photojournalist for newspapers and magazines here and around the world, partner of Alicia D’Amico for advertising work and portraits of famous figures, co-founder of the Argentine Council of Photography, founder of the General San Martin Theater photo gallery, she died in June of this year, already a nonagenarian.

Cynthia Rajschmir I had asked for some photos of Julio Cortazar for your documentary “Cortázar and Antin: illuminated letters”. The author kindly gave them to them. Thus began a friendship, little by little the camera entered and over four years the pleasant film that we now see was made. There, with her sweet voice, her own Facioneat, organized, memorable, it shows its letterhead boxes, the folders with thousands of contact photos, the enlargements of famous images from the same day they were published: for example, Peron in Gaspar Campos, the Ezeiza massacre, the townspeople grieving over the death of the leader, the writers in their libraries, Pablo Neruda on Black Island, Maria Elena Walsh in your life. “There was so much love in what he presented to me, each photo was an event”account Rajschmir.

“In 2022, the Argentine Embassy in Chile contacted the Neruda Foundation and two trans-Andean universities so that we could film the same corners of the Isla Negra house that she had photographed, and where we live thanks to the generosity of the poet.”. In November the film will be shown in Chile. “I dream of projecting it on the Island!”gets excited Rajschmirand introduces the author of the music: the percussionist and composer Horacio Straijerher husband. Then go back to Facio:

“As a teenager I discovered the book ‘Portraits and Self-Portraits’, by Sara and D’Amico, Crisis publishing house. “We kids got together to read aloud the texts of that book!” When he finally met her, the photographer was already around 90. “But he was always on top of everything, and he was very youthful, youth is such a subjective concept!”

Author of educational productions, Rajschmir He is already thinking about his third film. “Maybe something about Julio Cortázar. I remember that, as a girl, he told me ‘if this guy can write with so much freedom, it means he can think freely.’”. Filming and releasing is something else. “I would not have been able to make ‘Sara Facio’ without the support of Incaa through digital means (management 2023), which was joined by the Cultural Patronage of the City, the National Fund for the Arts, the Banco Hipotecario Foundation, the of Banco Santander and other non-profit entities. In fact, I don’t have a commercial search, but the team that works with me, the lab people and so on, have to charge something!”

“Procopiuk” (Argentina, 2023); Dir.: Diego Lumerman. “Sara Facio. Having been there” (Argentina, 2023); Dir.: Cinthia Rajschmir. documentaries.