Fernando Solanas | |
|---|---|
_2.jpg) Solanas at theGuadalajara Film Festival, 2008 | |
| Argentine Ambassador to UNESCO | |
| In office 10 December 2019 – 6 November 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Rodolfo Terragno |
| Succeeded by | Marcela Losardo |
| National Senator | |
| In office 10 December 2013 – 10 December 2019 | |
| Constituency | City of Buenos Aires |
| National Deputy | |
| In office 10 December 2009 – 10 December 2013 | |
| Constituency | City of Buenos Aires |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1936-02-16)16 February 1936 |
| Died | 6 November 2020(2020-11-06) (aged 84) |
| Cause of death | COVID-19[1] |
| Political party | Broad Front(1993–1994) Proyecto Sur(2007–2020) |
| Other political affiliations | South Alliance(1995) Broad Front UNEN(2013–2015) Creo(2017) Frente de Todos(2019–2020) |
| Occupation |
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Fernando Ezequiel "Pino" Solanas (16 February 1936 – 6 November 2020)[1] was an Argentinefilm director, screenwriter,score composer and politician. His films include;La hora de los hornos (The Hour of the Furnaces) (1968),Tangos: el exilio de Gardel (1985),Sur (1988),The Journey (1992),The Cloud (1998) andMemoria del saqueo (2004), among many others. He wasNational Senator representing theAutonomous City of Buenos Aires for six years, from 2013 to 2019.
Solanas studied theatre, music, and law. In 1962, he directed his first short featureSeguir andando and in 1968 he covertly produced and directed his first long feature filmLa Hora de los Hornos, a documentary on neo-colonialism and violence inLatin America. The film won several international awards and was screened around the world. Solanas won theGrand Jury Prize and the Critics Award at theVenice Film Festival and thePrix de la mise en scène at theCannes Film Festival. In 1999 he was the president of the jury at the21st Moscow International Film Festival.[2] He was awarded a specialHonorary Golden Bear at the 2004Berlin Film Festival. He collaborated withtango composer and musicianÁstor Piazzolla on the soundtracks for various movies.
Solanas was at the forefront of theGrupo Cine Liberación which shook Argentinecinema during the 1970s, developing its social conscience and political voice. He was active in the campaign to supportPerón[3][citation needed]. Threatened by right-wing forces in the 1970s, one of his actors was assassinated and he himself was almost kidnapped.
Together withOctavio Getino, Solanas wrote the manifesto "Toward a Third Cinema". The idea of a politicalThird Cinema, opposed toHollywood cinema andEuropean auteur cinema, inspired film makers in many so-called developing countries.
Solanas went into exile inParis in 1976, only returning toArgentina with the arrival of democracy in 1983.
Solanas continued to make political films and was an outspoken critic ofCarlos Menem, the Argentine President. Three days after such a public criticism, on 21 May 1991, Solanas was shot six times in his legs. Those responsible were never caught but Solanas always thought that Menem was behind it.[4] Despite dealing with the attack and disability, Solanas became even more involved in politics and stood to be aSenator forBuenos Aires, receiving 7% of the vote in 1992. A year later he was elected aNational Deputy for theFrente Grande list, although he left the party after a year.
Solanas continued to write and direct, including the 2005 filmLa Dignidad de los Nadies and the 2008 filmLa última estación. His son,Juan Solanas, is also a noted film director.
In October 2007, Solanas was apresidential candidate in the2007 Argentine general election for theAuthentic Socialist Party. He became the 5th most voted candidate, with 1.58% of the vote.
In 2009, Solanas was elected as a National Deputy for the city ofBuenos Aires in theJune 28th parliamentary elections, as his partyProyecto Sur attained the second largest political representation in the city by collecting 24.2% of the votes. In2013, Solanas was electedNational Senator, representing Buenos Aires City from 2013 to 2019.
In 2018 Solanas was vehemently for the legalization of abortion, claiming that sexual pleasure is a "fundamental human right".[5]
In 2019, following the end of his term as senator, he was appointed as Argentina's ambassador toUNESCO; he served in the position until his death fromCOVID-19 inNeuilly-sur-Seine,France, on 6 November 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic in France.[1]
| Ceremony | Year | Category | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venice Film Festival | 1985 | Grand Special Jury Prize | Won |
| 1998 | CinemAvvenire Award (Best Film in Competition) | Won | |
| Golden Lion | Nominated | ||
| UNESCO Award - Special Mention | Won | ||
| 2005 | Award of the City of Rome (Best Film) | Won | |
| Doc/It Award | Won | ||
| Human Rights Film Network Award | Won | ||
| Montréal World Film Festival | 2001 | Grand Prix Special des Amériques | Won |
| Mar del Plata Film Festival | 2004 | Best Film | Nominated |
| Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival | 1968 | Interfilm Award | Won |
| Havana Film Festival | 2007 | Special Jury Prize (Documentary) | Won |
| 2005 | Memoria Documentary Award | Won | |
| Saúl Yelín Award | Won | ||
| 1998 | CARACOL Award | Won | |
| Honorary Award | Won | ||
| Saúl Yelín Award | Won | ||
| 1992 | Special Jury Prize | Won | |
| 1988 | Grand Coral - First Prize | Won | |
| 1985 | Grand Coral - First Prize | Won | |
| Gramado Film Festival | 1992 | Golden Kikito (Best Ibero-American Film (Melhor Filme) | Nominated |
| Cannes Film Festival | 1992 | Golden Palm | Nominated |
| Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention | Won | ||
| Technical Grand Prize | Won | ||
| 1990 | Audience Award | Won | |
| 1989 | Audience Award | Won | |
| 1988 | Best Director | Won | |
| Golden Palm | Nominated | ||
| British Film Institute Awards | 1972 | Sutherland Trophy | Won |
| Berlin International Film Festival | 2004 | Honorary Golden Berlin Bear | Won |
| 1971 | FIPRESCI Prize - Special Mention | Won | |
| Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards | 2010 | Silver Condor (Best Documentary Feature (Mejor Largometraje Documental)) | Nominated |
| 2009 | Silver Condor (Best Documentary Feature (Mejor Largometraje Documental)) | Nominated | |
| Silver Condor (Best Editing (Mejor Montaje)) | Nominated | ||
| Silver Condor (Best Screenplay, Documentary (Mejor Guión Largometraje Documental)) | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Silver Condor (Best Documentary Feature (Mejor Largometraje Documental)) | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Silver Condor (Best Documentary (Mejor Documental)) | Nominated | |
| Silver Condor (Best Screenplay, Documentary (Mejor Guión Documental)) | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | Silver Condor (Best Documentary (Mejor Largometraje Documental) | Nominated | |
| Silver Condor (Best Screenplay, Feature-Length Documentary (Mejor Guión Largometraje Documental)) | Nominated | ||
| 1999 | Silver Condor (Best Director (Mejor Director)) | Nominated | |
| 1987 | Silver Condor (Best Director (Mejor Director)) | Won | |
| Silver Condor (Best Music (Mejor Música)) | Won | ||
| Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina | 2009 | Award of the Argentinean Academy (Best Documentary) | Nominated |
| 2008 | Award of the Argentinean Academy (Best Documentary) | Won |
"The possibility of making a new cinema completely outside the system depends on whether or not filmmakers can transform themselves from 'directors' into total filmmakers. And no one can become a total filmmaker without being a film technician, without being capable of handling the production."[6]
"We realized that the important thing was not the film itself but that which the film provoked."[7]
