The cinema of Iquitos, also known as Amazonian cinema, is an important film development and one of the historic pioneering event of cinema of Peru. Due to the rubber boom and the arrival of foreigners, film interest began in the early 20th century, along with the evolution of cinema of the United States in Hollywood. Cinema in Iquitos had no established date of origin. The first film, however, was made in 1900. The first films were shown in the Casa de Fierro with an Edison machine, which reproduced the images using a carbide lamp and the constant movement of the operator. Iquitos is mentioned as a metonym of cinema in the Peruvian Amazon.
The most important pioneer of cinema in Iquitos and the Loreto Region is Antonio Wong Rengifo, also a pioneer of film art in Peru, with his most important work being Bajo el sol de Loreto. Alongside this, other filmmakers such as Werner Herzog, Armando Robles Godoy, Nora Izcue, Federico García, and Dorian Fernandez Moris prolonged the cinematic presence in the city.
History
Origins
Until around the 1880, Iquitos did not have a film set. Interest in film production grew alongside the film industry booming elsewhere in the world. There is not enough accurate visual record the exact birth of cinema in Iquitos. In 1890, following the rhythm of the European organization of the city, scientific technology began arriving.
The first film made in 1900 was recorded. A movie was projected for the first time in the Iron House with an Edison machine, which reproduced the images using a carbide lamp and the constant movement of an operator. Before the fact, in 1898, Clement Alcala and Francisco de Paula Secada obtained land on the north side of the Plaza de Armas, and built a rustic-roof building, naming it Alhambra. They installed a tiny carousel brought from Manaus, Brazil. In 1902, with the rubber boom and its international impact, Edward Fuller purchased Alhambra. It hence became the first movie theater in town with Lumière brand projectors.
In the continuous city growth following the success of the rubber extraction, and its connection with Europe, the bourgeoisie grew in the city. Arnaldo Reategui traveled to France in 1905, and bought a projector with a large collection of movies—in black-and-white and technicolor—from cinema house Pathé Freres and Léon Gaumont. He was affiliated with Luis Pinasco and built a cinema called Jardín Strassburgo, located on the first block of Sargento Lores street. The first stage of Iquitos film concluded in 1914, with a prominent presence of French filmmakers. Georges Méliès and Gaumont sent several films on celluloid for the aristocratic film billboard of Iquitos. The film making attracted audiences, and blockbusters were reaching £4,500.
Rubber crisis and the prominence of Antonio Wong
Although the crisis hit Iquitos and had its effect on the industry, the arrival of new films did not stop. Films with a theatrical demeanor were gradually replaced by those more directed towards fiction. The filmmaking attracted new aspirations and acting talents, and the star system was present in the market. The distribution of Charlie Chaplin silent films were introduced by the Spanish businessman Jose Altimira.
The most important pioneer of cinema in Iquitos and the Loreto Region in general was , also a pioneer of film art in Peru. It is mainly known for shaping their ideologies, aspirations and other thoughts in his films. Wong Rengifo, in the course of his film making, followed the changing technology in the United States. In 1936, he premiered his film Bajo el sol de Loreto, a film which examines the main economic engine, and the valuation of the Peruvian Amazon (called "Selvak" in the film). He is thought to give an active representation of the amazonian culture in his films. Wong worked as a cameraman, developed his own films and edited them, and wrote his scripts inspired by Iquitos culture.
Developments to date In October 1957, Wong started the production of a film, with Mexican actress Amalia Aguilar, to be shown at the First International Fair of Iquitos. Due to a fire, however, his film study was consumed by fire and never made it to cinemas. The same year, a group of filmmakers came from Hollywood, accompanied by Harma Lewis and Keith Larsen, to shoot 29 short films for the anthology Adventure in the Amazon, directed by Tom McGowan (a little-known, recherché filmmaker in database), and produced by Warner Bros. The series was eventually canceled due to transportation spending.
By the 1960s, film was representing the beauty and calm of the jungle, and Iquitos was home to most regional and international filmmakers. In the 1970s, the cinema of Iquitos was influenced by Decree Law Number 19327, entitled "Law for the Promotion of Film Industry." The decree facilitated the production of new films, and the presentation of the Amazon image.
The film went on to a more complex film language with themes about the richness of the jungle, the imperialist power, mining and resource processing, and use of the natives as a portrait of tourism. During these years, there were notable films such as No Stars in the Jungle (1966) and The Green Wall (1969) by Armando Robles Godoy; Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) and Fitzcarraldo (1982) by Werner Herzog; The Ayahuasca Wind (1983) by Nora Izcue and The Partner of God (1986) by Federico Garcia. In 1990, Iquitos was gradually used as a stage for national and international soap operas; it was the backdrop for Anaconda (1997) by Luis Llosa; Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (2000) by Francisco Lombardi; The Motorcycle Diaries by Walter Salles and Daughters of Belén (2004) by Javier Corcuera.
In 2002, publicist Dorian Fernandez-Moris founded Audiovisual Films—founded as Audiovisual—and began with a team of twenty people. He began with short films like El otro lado, Runamula and 501, and subsequently made a series of workshops to increase interest in Iquitos cinephile. In 2006, he released Chullachaqui (based on an Amazon known legend), Immortal, and the film El último piso (18 February 2010). The latter was filmed at the tallest building in the city. In 2012, Audiovisual Films produced General Cemetery in Iquitos, and is scheduled for release in October 2012.
List of films ₪ - Filmed in Iquitos F - Filmed outside Iquitos T - Filmed in Iquitos and the Peruvian AmazonYearTitleStudio Cast and crew Genre Medium Ref.1932Frente del Putumayo(In Front of Putumayo)Foto WongAntonio Wong Rengifo (director)DocumentaryLive action1933Sepelio del Sargento Fernando Lores(Burial of Sergeant Fernando Lores)Foto WongAntonio Wong RengifoDocumentaryLive action1936Bajo el sol de Loreto(Under the Sun of Loreto)Foto WongAntonio Wong Rengifo (director, camarógrafo, productor, montajista y difusor)RomanceLive action1941₪Luces y sombras de Loreto(Lights and shadows)Foto WongAntonio Wong RengifoDocumentaryLive action1943₪Inauguración del Municipio(Inauguration of the Municipality)Foto WongAntonio Wong RengifoDocumentaryLive action1945TAmazonía peruana(Peruvian Amazon)Foto WongAntonio Wong RengifoDocumentaryLive action1950TConozca Loreto(Know Loreto Region)Foto WongAntonio Wong RengifoDocumentaryLive action1966TEn la selva no hay estrellas(No Stars in the Jungle)Antara Film del Peru / Argentina Sono Film S.A.C.I.Armando Robles Godoy (director/scriptwriter); Jorge Aragón, Willie Griffiths, César David Miró, Jorge Montoro, Luis Otero, Susana PardahlAdventureLive action1969TLa muralla verde(The Green Wall)Armando Robles GodoyDramaLive action1970TMachiguengas y pirosGerhard BaerDocumentaryLive action1972TAguirre, the Wrath of GodWerner Herzog Filmproduktion/Hessischer Rundfunk (HR)Werner Herzog (director/scriptwriter); Thomas Mauch (cinematography); Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Del Negro, Ruy Guerra, Peter Berling, Cecilia RiveraAventure, dramaLive action1974FInforme sobre los shipibos(Report on the Shipibo)Inca FilmsFrancisco Lombardi (director/scriptwriter)Aventure, dramaLive action1974FLos hombres del Ucayali(The Men of the Ucayali)Inca FilmsFrancisco Lombardi (co-director/scriptwriter); Emilio Moscoso (co-director)DramaLive action1976FAguarunasCETUCJosé Luis Rouillon A. (director); Nilo Pereira del Mar (cinematography); Guillermo Palacios P. (sound); Margarita León (narration)DocumentaryLive action1977FDe los hombres y de los árboles(From the Men and the Trees)Telecine-Ricardo FleissRicardo Fleiss (director); Gerardo Manero (cinematography); Rosalba Oxandabarat (narration)DocumentaryLive action1978FCuentos inmorales(Inmortal Stories)Inca FilmsFrancisco Lombardi (director); Emilio Moscoso (production)DocumentaryLive action1979FUna serpiente de oro(A Gold Snake)ReáteguiTulio Riveras (director); Emanuel Dussart (fotografía); René Andrade (narración); Hitler Mego (montajista)DocumentaryLive action1982TFitzcarraldoWerner Herzog Filmproduktion / Wildlife Films PeruWerner Herzog (director/scriptwriter); Thomas Mauch (cinematography); Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy, Miguel Ángel Fuentes, Paul Hittscher, Huerequeque Enrique BohórquezDrama, adventureLive action1983₪El viento del ayahuasca(The Ayahuasca Wind)Kinoks Filmaciones S.R.L. / Instituto Cubano del Arte y la Industria Cinematográfica.Dora de Izcue (director); Jorge Vignaíi (co-cinematography); Gianfranco Annichini (co-cinematography); Justo Vega (film edition)Thriller, dramaLive action1985₪Radio BelénCRONOSGianfranco Annichini (director)DocumentaryLive action₪El hombre solo(The Lonely Man)CRONOSGianfranco Annichini (director)DocumentaryLive action1986₪El socio de Dios(The God Partner)Cinematográfica Kuntur S.A.Federico García (director/co-scriptwriter); Roger Rumrill (co-scriptwriter); Juan Márquez (film editor)DocumentaryLive action1999₪Pantaleón y las visitadoras(Captain Pantoja and the Special Services)América Producciones / Inca Films / Tornasol FilmsFrancisco Lombardi (director); Bingen Mendizábal (music); Enrique Moncloa (co-scriptwriter); Giovanna Pollarolo (co-guionista); Mario Vargas Llosa (novel); Salvador del Solar, Angie Cepeda, Mónica Sánchez, Pilar Bardem, Gianfranco Brero, Gustavo BuenoComedy, dramaLive action2003FBuscando el azul(Looking for the Blue)TeleandesFernando Valdivia (director)DramaLive action2006TChullachaquiAudiovisual FilmsDorián Fernández-Moris (director); Nelson Mori (scriptwriter); Miguel Gonzáles, Ângela Vargas, Marco Vargas, Frescia Ortega, Cristian Calampa, Fernando Méndez, Gabriela MonsalveSupernatural horrorLive action2008₪Amazónico soy(Amazonian I am)José María Salcedo (director); Abraham Padilla (music); Carlos García (film editor)Documentary dramaLive action₪Los árboles tienen madre(Trees Have a Mother)DramaLive action2009₪Mi hermano María Paula(My brother María Paula)Piero Solari (director)DramaLive action2010₪El último piso(The Top Floor)Audiovisual FilmsDorian Fernández-Moris (director); Francisco Bardales (scriptwriter); Duller Vásquez, Glady Vásquez, Joel Huamán.DramaLive action2012₪Cementerio general(General Cemetery)Audiovisual FilmsDorian Fernández-Moris (director); Javier Velasquez (scriptwriter); Airam Galliani, Marisol Aguirre, Flavia Trujillo, Leslie Shaw, Nikko Ponce, Diva Rivera, Jürgen GómezSupernatural horror, found footageLive action
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