Contemporary Latin American Cinema and Resistance to Neoliberalism: Mapping the Field

Abstract

Buenos Aires, April 2017: On the opening night of the annual BAFICI film festival, hundreds of people flocked the entry of the Cine Gaumont. Rather than seeking entrance to the opening film, they gathered to protest against proposed cutback measures which threaten the existence of the Argentine state-owned production company, INCAA (Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales). Under the center-right government of President Mauricio Macri, a number of employees were dismissed and the budget for cultural activities was cut. Film productions are at risk of being terminated because promised grants are not being paid out or belatedly so (Fig. 1.1).The deteriorating state of affairs in the Argentine cultural sector mirrors a situation familiar to filmmakers and film personnel in other Latin American countries, where the responsibility of the state yields to the interests of private business and ownership. This essay investigates the impact of neoliberalism on Latin America filmmaking from the