The Filmer

(El filmador)
Aldo Garay | Documentary

2021 | 70 minutes | Uruguay

A secret film diary by José Pedro Díaz reveals 1950s Uruguay and Europe. Aldo Garay’s documentary unites image and text in a moving archival portrait.

Synopsis

Celebrated Uruguayan writer José Pedro Díaz hid a secret passion for cinema. Between 1950 and 1952, Díaz created a silent yet deeply expressive film diary, never shown publicly in his lifetime. Shot with two cameras—an Emel 8mm and a Bolex 16mm—the 13 surviving reels offer a rare, multifaceted archive of mid-century life and thought.

These films capture a remarkable range of themes: the everyday rhythms of working-class Montevideo, intimate portraits of intellectual and artistic circles in postwar Europe, and domestic travel scenes featuring his wife, the poet Amanda Berenguer. Díaz’s lens transforms ordinary moments into meditative visual essays, imbuing the personal with profound historical and emotional resonance.

Aldo Garay’s documentary not only rescues these materials from obscurity but also reflects on the act of creation itself. The Filmer becomes a film about filmmaking, a diary about a diary—excavating memory, authorship, and legacy.

Reviews

“The life of Uruguayan writer José Pedro Díaz is recovered in this investigative documentary that relies, in addition to his story and biography, on the films that Díaz himself made during a long trip he made through Europe with his wife, a poet.” – Diego Lerer, Micropsia

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Keywords
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Festivals

BAFICI Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival - Best Film “Avant Garde & Genre”; Lima Alterna - Special Mention

DIRECTOR: Aldo Garay

NATIONALITY: Uruguay

YEAR: 2021

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adult

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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