Cartographies of Uruguayan fictional cinema of the 21st century on the civic-military dictatorship (1973-1985)

Abstract

The Uruguayan civic-military dictatorship (1973-1985) was a period marked by State terrorism, the reproduction of different practices of violence, censorship, repression and systematic violations of human rights. By inquiring into current discourses that portray traumatic historical events, it is problematized how the Uruguayan fictional cinema of the present century represents, as a powerful means of communication, the recent past of its country. The article carries out, in the first instance, a historical contextualization of the Uruguayan civic-military dictatorship, to then frame the situation of Uruguayan fictional cinema made in a post-regime stage. A cartography is carried out that contextualizes Uruguayan film productions during the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century based on three aspects: the creation of educational film and audiovisual institutions, the emergence of state funds and the figure of co-production. Finally, the fictional productions on the dictatorship in Uruguayan cinema from 2007, the release date of the first fictional film on the subject, are detailed and categorized.