Cinema and Storytelling in Chile and Argentina

Winter Break 2025

This program offers an examination of Argentine and Chilean cinemas, two industries outside of the US-European nexus, to highlight alternative modes of storytelling and lesser known models of film production and distribution. The vibrant cinemas of these two Latin American countries offer abundant opportunities to explore such models as they ingeniously appropriate, critique, and resist American and European hegemony. In the last twenty years, Argentina and Chile have become two of the most dynamic producers of global cinema with many filmmakers receiving major awards and honors at international film festivals. Our program is based in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Santiago (Chile), the respective centers of film and media production in each country, where we meet with the filmmakers whose work we studied during fall term. We also visit film schools, studios, production companies, and post-production facilities, and explore how film history is preserved and circulated through film archives, cinematheques, and independent cinemas.

OCS students in Santiago (Chile-December 2014)

Welcome to Cinema and Storytelling in Chile and Argentina! We are Cecilia Cornejo and Jay Beck from the Cinema and Media Studies department and we appreciate your interest in our program.

Our longstanding fascination with Latin American cinema led us to develop this Off Campus Study program in 2014. We are proud of the impact it has had on students and excited to offer it for the third time. The program provides a multifaceted view of two vibrant film industries seldom explored in North American scholarship and the related courses encompass the historical, cultural, and social contexts within each country to give you a thorough understanding of the cinematic landscape.

We bring you into contact with award-winning filmmakers, writers, actors, and producers who are making groundbreaking work often outside of mainstream commercial cinema. In previous study trips we’ve had the opportunity to talk with directors Ignacio Agüero, Albertina Carri, Laura Citarella, Sebastián Lelio, Manuela Martelli, Santiago Mitre, Alejo Moguillansky, Martín Rejtman, Alicia Scherson, Dominga Sotomayor, and José Luis Torres Leiva, among many others. Critical examination of underrepresented films and in-person interaction with their makers are at the heart of the program. This opportunity will expand your ideas of what filmmaking is, how it is produced and circulated, and the real-life impact it can have.

In the CAMS department, Cecilia teaches Digital Foundations, The Essay Film, and Documentary Studies. She is an avid poetry reader and loves the music of Charly García, Los Tres, Sumo, and Ana Tijoux. The aspect of this program she enjoys the most is its interdisciplinary nature. As a practicing artist and filmmaker who grew up in Chile, she values how we approach filmmaking and the study of film through various lenses, including dance, theater, and street art. Jay teaches film studies and film history classes as well as sound-related courses. He is enamored with the novellas of Alejandro Zambra and the music of Pánico, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Bunkers, and Babasónicos. What Jay appreciates the most about the program is how we map the evolution of cinematic practices and aesthetics through the cultural and political histories of each country. We both have an enduring passion for Latin American cinema and, when working in Chicago, Cecilia curated three film series featuring works from Latin American for the prestigious Gene Siskel Film Center.

We encourage a broad range of students to participate in the Chile-Argentina OCS program because we find that a mix of students from various disciplines significantly enriches the learning process and the program’s success. This is a rare opportunity for students interested in studying Latin America and there are no prerequisites. While knowledge of Spanish is helpful, it is not required for you to apply.

Fall term involves an overview of the history of Chilean and Argentine cinemas and cultures from the 1960s to the present. Through weekly film screenings, reading assignments, and class discussions, students acquire the historical and contextual knowledge needed for the study trip. At the end of the fall term, students choose topics to research over December break which will be developed further in winter term when back on campus. Students can choose to work on an academic paper, a video project, translation, curatorial exhibition, or another creative project approved by the faculty.

The December break study trip involves meeting with many of the filmmakers, scholars, and critics whose work we studied in the fall term. We also visit places of cultural and historical significance and explore other forms of storytelling through performances, workshops, walking tours, and more.

During winter term, students complete the projects proposed in fall term. Paper drafts, rough cuts, and preliminary curatorial work are due after mid-term break. The course emphasizes collaboration and students are expected to contribute to at least one other project. We learn by doing, covering all the aspects involved in producing a gallery show, short films, screening series, and a project symposium.

Learning Goals

To gain a solid understanding of the history of Chilean and Argentine cinemas from the 1960s to the present;
To acquire a variety of critical and cultural approaches for interpreting and analyzing Chilean and Argentine films and cinematic practices;
To explore alternative modes of film funding, production, distribution, and exhibition through visits with filmmakers, producers, and film scholars;
To develop familiarity with other powerful forms of storytelling through visits to artists’ studios and hands-on workshops;
To complete a major creative project based on course materials and the experiential learning gained during the study trip;
And to collaborate with class peers to produce a public-facing event that showcases the work generated through the program.

Prerequisites

This off-campus study program is open to all Carleton students, but preference will be given to those with a demonstrated interest in cinema studies and/or production. Students are encouraged to take CAMS 110: Introduction to Cinema and Media Studies and/or CAMS 111 Digital Foundations in advance of the program.

Course of Study

12 Credits

Fall Term Course, 6 credits

CAMS 295: Cinema in Chile and Argentina – Storytelling In Context

This course offers a broad historical and cultural overview of Chile and Argentina through a study of fiction and documentary films. It examines significant political and cultural developments including New Latin American Cinema, cinematic diasporas, dictatorship and the return of democracy, commercial consolidation of film industries, and recent films targeting international audiences. The goals of the class are to provide cinematic and culture histories from the 1960s through the present, to equip students with critical and cultural approaches for interpreting and analyzing cinematic practices, and to prepare students for the December OCS study trip to Santiago and Buenos Aires.

Winter Term Course, 6 Credits (Includes 2-week winter break trip)

CAMS 296: Chile and Argentina – Modes of Storytelling

This course is the second part of a two-term sequence and begins with a study trip to Santiago and Buenos Aires in December 2025. The study trip concentrates on cinema while examining other forms of storytelling. Our time abroad is spent visiting filmmakers, scholars, and cultural organizations that shape cinematic practices. Back on campus we unpack the study trip and work on projects proposed in fall term. Paper drafts, rough cuts, and preliminary curatorial work are due at midterm and students present their work to the Carleton community in a gallery exhibition and symposium in weeks nine and ten.

Housing

Students will stay in student residences and hostels.

Excursions

Our time in Buenos Aires and Santiago will be spent visiting filmmakers, producers, scholars, cinematheques, studios, and cultural organizations that directly shape filmmaking practices and cultural production in Argentina and Chile. We will also visit museums, attend screenings and musical performances, and explore neighborhoods of cinematic, cultural, and historical significance.