Latin American Third Cinema

 

Latin American Third Cinema:
Political Liberation Through Film

Introduction

Third Cinema was not just a film movement — it was a call to revolution. Emerging in the late 1960s across Latin America, particularly in Argentina, Cuba, and Chile, it rejected both Hollywood’s commercialism and European art cinema’s elitism.
Third Cinema saw film as a weapon of liberation, empowering people to resist imperialism, capitalism, and dictatorship.

Historical Background

• Originated with Argentine filmmakers Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino, who published the manifesto “Toward a Third Cinema” in 1969.
• Coincided with revolutionary movements in Cuba, Chile, and Brazil.
• Opposed U.S. cultural dominance and Western ideology.
• Deeply connected to Marxist and anti-colonial thought, advocating cinema as a tool of political awakening.

The Three Cinemas Defined:

1. First Cinema: Hollywood – profit-driven, escapist entertainment.
2. Second Cinema: European auteur films – personal but apolitical.
3. Third Cinema: Revolutionary, collective, and people-focused — cinema as activism.

Stylistic Features

Third Cinema fused realism, documentary, and symbolism to convey struggle and hope.

Defining traits:

• Handheld, low-budget filmmaking.
• Voice-over narration and on-location sound.
• Montage and archival footage.
• Blending of documentary and fiction.
• Collective authorship rather than individual fame.
• Open endings and calls to action.

Key Filmmakers and Films

• Fernando Solanas & Octavio Getino (Argentina) – The Hour of the Furnaces (1968): Revolutionary documentary on colonial oppression.
• Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (Cuba) – Memories of Underdevelopment (1968): Identity and ideology in post-revolutionary Cuba.
• Glauber Rocha (Brazil) – Black God, White Devil (1964): Myth and politics in Brazilian Cinema Novo.
• Miguel Littín (Chile) – The Promised Land (1973): Worker struggles and hope amid dictatorship.
• Santiago Álvarez (Cuba) – Now! (1965): Fast-paced political montage using found footage and music.

Themes and Ideology

• Anti-colonial struggle and decolonization.
• Class conflict and revolution.
• Collective identity and unity.
• Resistance to imperialism and capitalism.
• Cinema as education and consciousness-raising.

Third Cinema turned filmmaking into an act of political defiance — a voice for the oppressed.

Legacy

• Influenced radical cinema across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
• Inspired movements like African Postcolonial Cinema and Political Documentary Cinema.
• Echoes can be seen in City of God (2002), Roma (2018), and modern activist media.
• Its legacy remains alive in community filmmaking and social documentaries today.

Third Cinema taught that a camera in the hands of the people can be more powerful than any weapon.