Andrés Varela

Directing

Andrés Varela

Place of birth

Montevideo, Uruguay

Known for

Directing

Credits

12 titles

Andrés Varela is a Uruguayan director, writer and producer primarily known for his documentaries about soccer and the arts. He graduated from Margarita Xirgu Multidisciplinary School of Dramatic Art and the Paris Nanterre University.

Known for

Maracaná poster
6.2

The unexpected victory over Uruguay in the World Cup Brazil 1950 continues to have social and political ramifications for both countries.

Maracaná

2014

Instinto poster
NR

This is the story of a group of women who come together to create a play about maternal instinct, abortion, and social norms.

Instinto

2026

Sangre de Campeones poster
NR

1924: a group of men, amateur footballers of diverse professions and humble origins, set out on a journey towards the greatest adventure of their lives. They depart from Uruguay for Europe to disembark in Paris in its "Crazy Years" where, against all odds, Olympic glory and the amazement of the whole world awaited them. This feat would be the first of others to come in 1928 and 1930.

Sangre de Campeones

2018

Benedetti, 60 años con Luz poster
5.5

Mario Benedetti and Luz López met when they were teenagers, he became a writer and she became a public servant. Together they shared life, exile, failures, success, friends and love. Sixty years and eighty books later, Luz suffers from Alzheimer's, forgets all of her past, and finally she forgets Mario just before she died. The film reconstructs this memory with an eye set on the author and the love that bound them together.

Benedetti, 60 años con Luz

2022

My new way of seeing poster
NR

In an early September morning in Maastricht, the Netherlands, one of the neurologists entered the emergency room to report that Lucía had suffered several strokes. For fifteen days of excruciating headaches and vomiting, she was neglected by a deficient healthcare system that kept sending her home with doses of acetaminophen, until one morning Lucía stopped recognizing her surroundings. The left side of her body, as well as her vision, stopped functioning. Miraculously, she managed to survive. After several back-and-forth visits, she received a one-in-a-million diagnosis: Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome.

My new way of seeing

2026

Cachila poster
5.0

The Silva family is pioneer and a role model within the community; it shows values and the goal to not let the candombe tradition fade away. Not only do they have an internal hierarchy, but also in his neighbourhood, Waldemar “Cachila” Silva is a respected leader. Cachila decide to pass on his legacy to his sons Matias and Wellington, who should now lead the family business, afro descendants playing candombe, a drum rhythm for the carnival contest and keep the privilege place obtained by the family. Patriarchy, hierarchy and cultural traditions are the concepts that drive this documentary about the life of a man of African descent and a dysfunctional family trying to perpetuate its power, which is crucial for the future of a culture.

Cachila

2008

Film credits

Behind the camera

Maracaná poster
6.2

The unexpected victory over Uruguay in the World Cup Brazil 1950 continues to have social and political ramifications for both countries.

Maracaná

2014

Instinto poster
NR

This is the story of a group of women who come together to create a play about maternal instinct, abortion, and social norms.

Instinto

2026

Sangre de Campeones poster
NR

1924: a group of men, amateur footballers of diverse professions and humble origins, set out on a journey towards the greatest adventure of their lives. They depart from Uruguay for Europe to disembark in Paris in its "Crazy Years" where, against all odds, Olympic glory and the amazement of the whole world awaited them. This feat would be the first of others to come in 1928 and 1930.

Sangre de Campeones

2018

Benedetti, 60 años con Luz poster
5.5

Mario Benedetti and Luz López met when they were teenagers, he became a writer and she became a public servant. Together they shared life, exile, failures, success, friends and love. Sixty years and eighty books later, Luz suffers from Alzheimer's, forgets all of her past, and finally she forgets Mario just before she died. The film reconstructs this memory with an eye set on the author and the love that bound them together.

Benedetti, 60 años con Luz

2022

Benedetti, 60 años con Luz poster
5.5

Mario Benedetti and Luz López met when they were teenagers, he became a writer and she became a public servant. Together they shared life, exile, failures, success, friends and love. Sixty years and eighty books later, Luz suffers from Alzheimer's, forgets all of her past, and finally she forgets Mario just before she died. The film reconstructs this memory with an eye set on the author and the love that bound them together.

Benedetti, 60 años con Luz

2022

My new way of seeing poster
NR

In an early September morning in Maastricht, the Netherlands, one of the neurologists entered the emergency room to report that Lucía had suffered several strokes. For fifteen days of excruciating headaches and vomiting, she was neglected by a deficient healthcare system that kept sending her home with doses of acetaminophen, until one morning Lucía stopped recognizing her surroundings. The left side of her body, as well as her vision, stopped functioning. Miraculously, she managed to survive. After several back-and-forth visits, she received a one-in-a-million diagnosis: Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome.

My new way of seeing

2026

Cachila poster
5.0

The Silva family is pioneer and a role model within the community; it shows values and the goal to not let the candombe tradition fade away. Not only do they have an internal hierarchy, but also in his neighbourhood, Waldemar “Cachila” Silva is a respected leader. Cachila decide to pass on his legacy to his sons Matias and Wellington, who should now lead the family business, afro descendants playing candombe, a drum rhythm for the carnival contest and keep the privilege place obtained by the family. Patriarchy, hierarchy and cultural traditions are the concepts that drive this documentary about the life of a man of African descent and a dysfunctional family trying to perpetuate its power, which is crucial for the future of a culture.

Cachila

2008

Cachila poster
5.0

The Silva family is pioneer and a role model within the community; it shows values and the goal to not let the candombe tradition fade away. Not only do they have an internal hierarchy, but also in his neighbourhood, Waldemar “Cachila” Silva is a respected leader. Cachila decide to pass on his legacy to his sons Matias and Wellington, who should now lead the family business, afro descendants playing candombe, a drum rhythm for the carnival contest and keep the privilege place obtained by the family. Patriarchy, hierarchy and cultural traditions are the concepts that drive this documentary about the life of a man of African descent and a dysfunctional family trying to perpetuate its power, which is crucial for the future of a culture.

Cachila

2008

The Boy Who Dreams poster
NR

The life and work of French puppeteer Philippe Genty are marked by the power of his visual poetry. His childhood traumas and dreams led him to become one of today's greatest exponents of theater and visual arts. At 83, he finds himself in his studio in a Brittany forest, where he inhabits both his hells and his paradises. This journey begins when Philippe opens the doors to that world for us.

The Boy Who Dreams

2025

La Matinée poster
NR

This is the story of a group of veteran musicians joined by two young artists to perform together after more than 20 years of inactivity in the Uruguayan carnival scene. In addition to demonstrating their talent, this film provides a look at their personal lives, lives that have always revolved around the magic of the carnival (Which lasts just a month per year), but that inevitably must make room for their daily life, far from show business and public recognition.

La Matinée

2007

Mundialito poster
6.0

The film provides a look at the 1980 Mundialito, an international friendly soccer tournament organized by the Uruguayan Soccer Association, which brought together the World Cup-winning national teams and the Netherlands, and was organized in Uruguay during an unconventional political situation.

Mundialito

2010