Mariano Cohn (born 1 December 1975,Villa Ballester, Argentina)[1] andGastón Duprat (born 8 December 1969,Bahía Blanca, Argentina)[2] are an Argentine filmmaking and television series duo. They have worked together since the mid 1990s, creating a range of projects in the audiovisual field. Their distinctive style combines social commentary with humor.They have directed feature films includingThe Distinguished Citizen (2016),Official Competition (2022), andHomo Argentum (2025),[3] as well as the seriesEl encargado (2022)[4] andNothing (2023).[5] Their films have been selected to compete in film festivals such asVenice,Cannes,Sundance,San Sebastián,Berlin andToronto. Over the course of their career, they have received over 30 international awards and 50 nominations. They have worked with actors of the stature ofRobert De Niro,Penélope Cruz andAntonio Banderas.
The earliest works produced by the pair were video art and experimental cinema. Many of these pieces won international awards and were exhibited in prominent museums, including theMoMA and theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, theCentre Pompidou in Paris, theMuseo Reina Sofía in Madrid, theMuseo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, and theTate in London.[6] Their works from this period includeEl hombre que murió dos veces (1992),Un día más en la tierra (1993),Circuito (1996),Venimos llenos de tierra (1998),Soy Francisco López (2000),Veinte Doce (2001), andHágalo Usted Mismo (2002).
In the late 1990s they developed and produced the formatTelevisión Abierta (1998), considered the first TV reality show in the world, anticipating YouTube by years, with a very similar concept. The format was replicated in countries including Spain, Brazil, the United States, the UK, France and Japan. Subsequently, they created further innovative formats, such asCupido (2001),[7]El Gordo Liberosky (2002), both for the Much Music channel,Cuentos de Terror con Alberto Laiseca (2003) for the I-Sat channel,Juro que es verdad (2004) for the Infinito channel,El Amante TV (2006) for Canal á andBorges está vivo (2016)[8] for Canal 13, together with others.
They have been directors of two television channels:Ciudad Abierta (2003), the public channel for the city of Buenos Aires, andDigo (2012), the public channel for the Province of Buenos Aires, both offering innovative ideas that fostered citizen participation.
They have also created, written and directed original series for the platformDisney+, including four seasons ofEl encargado (2022), a series starringGuillermo Francella and nominated for theInternational Emmy Award, andNada (2023), starring Luis Brandoni andRobert De Niro.
In October 2022, Robert De Niro was asked at a press conference which director he would like to make another film with. Bearing in mind that he has worked with directors includingMartin Scorsese,Francis Ford Coppola,Sergio Leone andQuentin Tarantino, De Niro replied: “I worked on the series Nada with two wonderful directors and writers from Argentina, Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn. It was a great experience. They are special guys. Unique.”
Subsequently, they have directed two seasons of Bellas Artes (2024) in Spain, featuring Oscar Martínez, which was well received internationally.[9] They are currently in post-production on their upcoming film, Homo Argentum, starring Guillermo Francella, an episodic movie shot in Argentina and Italy, set to be released in 2025, and developing international series and feature films, including several for the US market, further cementing their position as leading figures in contemporary filmmaking.
The pair have directed and produced the films:Enciclopedia (1998),[10]Yo Presidente (2003),[11]El Artista (2006),El hombre de al lado (2008),[12]Querida voy a comprar cigarrillos y vuelvo (2011),[13]Civilización (2012),Living Stars (2014),El Ciudadano Ilustre (2016),[14]Todo sobre el Asado (2016),Mi Obra Maestra (2018),4x4 (2019),[15] andCompetencia Oficial (2022),[16] which starredPenélope Cruz andAntonio Banderas.
Several of their films have been box office hits in countries around the world, includingEl hombre de al lado,El Ciudadano Ilustre andCompetencia Oficial, winning huge audiences in many countries. Most of their films are written by Andrés Duprat, brother of Gastón, a prominent writer and art scholar who today is the director of theNational Museum of Fine Arts in Argentina.
Many of their films have seen remakes in other countries:4x4 has had remakes made in Brazil,India andAmerica produced by Sam Raimi and starring Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins, andMi Obra Maestra andEl Ciudadano Ilustre both have French remakes.[17] An English US version of their featureEl Hombre de al Lado is also in development.
| Year | Title | Director (s) | Writer (s) | Producer (s) | DoP (s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | El Artista | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2009 | The Man Next Door | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| 2011 | Querida Voy a Comprar Cigarrillos y Vuelvo | Yes | Yes | Co-producers | Yes | |
| 2016 | The Distinguished Citizen | Yes | No | Co-producers | Yes | |
| 2018 | Mi Obra Secreta | No | No | Yes | No | |
| My Masterpiece | Gaston | Gaston | Mariano | No | ||
| 2019 | 4x4 | Mariano | Yes | Gaston | No | |
| 2019 | Hora Día Mes | No | No | Yes | No | |
| 2021 | Official Competition | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2022 | A Jaula | No | Yes | No | No | |
| 2025 | Homo Argentum | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Year | Title | Director (s) | Writer (s) | Producer (s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Enciclopedia | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | Yo Presidente | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2014 | Living Stars | Yes | No | No | |
| 2016 | Todo Sobre el Asado | Yes | No | Yes |
| Year | Film | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Yo, Presidente | First Prize in the International Festival of Cinema Independent from Mexico Best Prize Documentary Movie at the Malaga Film Festival |
| 2008 | El artista | Best Movie and Best Script at the International Festival of Bursa, Turkey The Audience Award at the Cinémas d'Amérique Latine Festival]in Toulouse, France Best New Directors award at the 15th Lleida Film Festival, Spain |
| 2009 | El hombre de al lado | Best Argentine Feature Film prize at the 24º Mar del Plata Film Festival, Argentina Best Cinematography Award in the World Dramatic Competition atSundance 2010, USA Official Slate at The Lincoln Center Film Society’s and MoMA’s New Directors New Films 2010 in New York, USA Best Directors and Best Actors at the 16th Lleida Film Festival, Spain Best Picture, Director, Actor and Breakthrough Actor (both to veteran television actor Daniel Aráoz), Original Screenplay and Music at Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina's Premios Sur 2010 |