Directing

Jorge Prelorán

Born 1933-05-28 · Buenos Aires, Argentina

Jorge Prelorán was an Argentine-American filmmaker renowned for his ethnographic documentaries that intimately portrayed the lives and cultures of rural communities in Argentina. His pioneering work in "ethnobiography" combined anthropological research with cinematic storytelling, offering deep insights into his subjects' personal experiences. Notable films include Hermógenes Cayo (1969) and Luther Metke at 94 (1980), the latter earning an Academy Award nomination. Prelorán's extensive body of work is preserved at the Smithsonian Institution's Human Studies Film Archives, ensuring his contributions to documentary filmmaking and cultural preservation continue to be recognized.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Claudia poster
10.0

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

Claudia

1972

Venganza poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Venganza

1954

Quilino poster
8.0

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.

Quilino

1966

Trapiches caseros poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Trapiches caseros

1965

Iruya poster
NR

The feast of the Virgin of the Rosary in Iruya, in a remote village in the Zenta Mountain Range in the province of Salta, is one of the many festivals celebrated in the Northwest of Argentina, where the fusion of the ancestral cultures of the region is represented, along with elements of Hispanic influence, building a transcultural look as a strategy of resistance.

Iruya

1968

Medardo Pantoja poster
6.0

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.

Medardo Pantoja

1969

Hermógenes Cayo (Imaginero) poster
7.8

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.

Hermógenes Cayo (Imaginero)

1969

Hermógenes Cayo (Imaginero) poster
7.8

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.

Hermógenes Cayo (Imaginero)

1969

No artwork available
NR

Dialogue between a cameraman and a visual artist: that is, the filmmaker obsessed with winning awards at film festivals and the painter eager for the opportunity to have his poetry heard discuss the value of art criticism and the effect of family on the artist's life.

Obsesivo

1994

No artwork available
NR

Dialogue between a cameraman and a visual artist: that is, the filmmaker obsessed with winning awards at film festivals and the painter eager for the opportunity to have his poetry heard discuss the value of art criticism and the effect of family on the artist's life.

Obsesivo

1994

No artwork available
NR

Dialogue between a cameraman and a visual artist: that is, the filmmaker obsessed with winning awards at film festivals and the painter eager for the opportunity to have his poetry heard discuss the value of art criticism and the effect of family on the artist's life.

Obsesivo

1994

Casabindo poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Casabindo

1965

Valle fértil poster
9.0

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

Valle fértil

1972

Valle fértil poster
9.0

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

Valle fértil

1972

Chucalezna poster
6.5

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.

Chucalezna

1968

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Manos pintadas

1971

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Manos pintadas

1971

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Manos pintadas

1971

No artwork available
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Castelao (Biografía de un ilustre gallego)

Cochengo Miranda poster
9.0

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.

Cochengo Miranda

1975

Zerda's Children poster
8.0

Ethnographic film documents a family of woodcutters living in isolation in the mountains of Calden, at the geographic center of Argentina. Through his narration, Sixto Ramon Zerda explains his wish for his children to be educated and to avoid the punishing work and exploitation he has suffered. Introduction narrated by Henry Fonda.

Zerda's Children

1978

It Happened in Hualfin poster
7.4

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.

It Happened in Hualfin

1965

The Ona People: Life and Death in Tierra del Fuego poster
NR

Documents the life of the last generation of Selk'nam's. Their way of life, economy, rituals, chants, traditions, and their slow extinction after the colonization...

The Ona People: Life and Death in Tierra del Fuego

1977

Araucanos de Ruca Choroy poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Araucanos de Ruca Choroy

1969