It’s hard to know what the crowd sitting in the Library and Archives Building was thinking as they awaited the beginning of the Argentinian film. Other than the obvious buzzwords—Buenos Aires, tango, Andes, penguins—extensive knowledge of Argentinian cinema seemed scarce.
But it wasn’t necessary. The crowd was treated to a great film—the story of “Elvis” Gutiérrez, whose factory worker by day, Elvis Presley impersonator by night lifestyle is transformed when his celebrity obsession clashes with his family responsibilities.
The Last Elvis (El último Elvis), directed by Armando Bo, was featured as part of “Viva Argentina: Current Trends in Argentine Cinema,” a three-film, three-night expo of New Argentine Cinema presented from Oct. 2-4 by the Canadian Film Institute (CFI), in collaboration with the University of Ottawa’s Spanish program and the Embassy of Argentina in Canada.
Despite there only being three films in the series, this seemingly small field was made up for with an eclectic mix of film genres.
“[We’re] trying to get different kinds of film styles represented but also films that have made some noise internationally,” said Tom McSorley, executive director of the CFI.
In contrast to The Last Elvis, the second film of the series was the existential road movie Gone Fishing (Días de Pesca), directed by acclaimed Argentinian director Carlos Sorín, followed by the romantic sex-comedy and box office hit Two Plus Two (Dos Más Dos), by director Diego Kaplan, on closing night.
The CFI’s film choices for the expo were a nod to their cultural mandate, providing non-commercial-driven content to their Canadian audience while creating a forum for cultural exchange through cinema, said McSorley, who also works as a sessional lecturer in Carleton’s Department of Film Studies.
“There’s so much great stuff being made out there that goes into oblivion and nobody ever gets the chance to see it,” McSorley said. “A film like The Last Elvis for example, you know, why isn’t that in the theatres? Well, because some distributors think it’s not commercial enough. Our role is to provide the window for people to see that kind of work.”
An exclusively Argentinian film series has been a long time coming for the CFI, which last hosted such an event over 20 years ago, when “film was on actual film,” McSorley said.
Since then, Argentinian cinema has gained an impressive following, garnering critical acclaim and international recognition.
“In the last decade, maybe a little earlier than that, [Argentine films] have had a great balance of commercial style with a sort of more art house kind of content. They’ve found a really interesting formula to make films that are entertaining on the one hand but also kind of edifying at the same time,” McSorley said.
Jerret Zarowski, programmer for the CFI, said he knows the audience will respond well to the films they love.
“Argentina has such a strong and rich cinema, especially over the last couple of decades, and it’s always great to be able to show more,” Zarowski said.
Beyond screening films, Viva Argentina! also played host to two full-day research workshops at the University of Ottawa, where leading North American scholars as well as Argentine producers and directors presented and discussed the New Argentine Cinema movement.
