Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts

Fernando Birri (born Santa Fe, Argentina, 1925) is a film maker, artist, writer, and educator described by many as the founder of New Latin American cinema. He studied filmmaking at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia di Roma where he shot his first documentary film Selinunte (1951). He has made at least 17 films the most well-known of which are Tire dié (1954), Los inundados (1961), and Un señor muy viejo con unas alas muy grandes (1988); written numerous books on film theory and poetry; created numerous works of art in a wide range of media from pencils, watercolors, and collage to computer graphics. He has taught numerous film classes and founded or assisted with the creation of 3 film schools: Escuela de Cine y Televisión de Tres Mundos (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba; Instituto de Cinematografía de la Universidad del Litoral in Santa Fe, Argentina; Laboratorio Ambulante de Poéticas Cinematográficas at the Universidad de los Andes, Venezuela. He is also the founder of the Fundación del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano in Havana, Cuba. The collection contains films, videos, film scripts, diaries, writings, art work, correspondence, poems, photographs, posters, audio recordings, and objects. The films were created by Birri during his career while the videos are copies of his films as well as videos he collected and received from other film makers. His writings relate to his books of poetry and prose as well as his work as an educator and theoretician in film studies. Birri is also a prolific artist and has created a wide variety of artwork using all types of media including pencil, watercolor, collage, photography, and computer graphics. His artwork ranges from simple and abstract pencil drawings to complex works full of color and mixed media.

Format(s): Books, Manuscripts, Broadsides, Museum Objects, Graphics, Audio Files, Video Files, Documents
Library: John Hay
NOTE: This collection is housed off-site. Prior notice is needed for retrieval
Contact(s): patricia_figueroa@brown.edu (Primary Contact)

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Access to the collection:

Online Catalog (BruKnow):
General description of the collection available on BruKnow

Other Online Access:
Research Guide: Fernando Birri Archive
RIAMCO: Guide to the Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts - Fotos
RIAMCO: Guide to the Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts - Pinturas
RIAMCO: Guide to the Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts - Escritos
RIAMCO: Guide to the Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts - Audiovisual and Objects