Institute History
Description
The new legendary film, which initiated the Argentine cinematic renaissance, Camila, was actually filmed during the dying days of the junta when the Malvinas war was nearly lost and it was becoming clear that change was on the way. Camila was finished in time to open, in early 1984, as a clear celebration of the new Argentine democracy. Based on the true story of Camila O’Gorman, whose heretical passion for the handsome young jesuit Father Gutierrez led them both on the path to liberation, fulfillment, and early death.
Camila was one of the first films to search the Argentine past for models to guide its future. If Camila could be seen by many outside of Argentina as an accomplished period love story, inside Argentina it was clearly that and more: Camila and her priest were, after all, the first “disappeareds” and the message of the individual defiance of illegitimate authority could not be overlooked. Equally important, though, for a society leeched by military repression, Camila presents a fresh and unduplicated reopening of sexual passion and freeing of female sensuality.
Camila was maria Luisa Bemberg’s third feature film. Since then, she has continued her exploration of history with Miss Mary and, most recently, a new film on the life of Sor Juana de la Cruz set to enter production in early 1988 location in Mexico.