“The Origin of Film is Photography”

“The Origin of Film is Photography” ¹

In December 1973, Fernando Birri was part of the Third World Filmmakers Meeting in Algiers—the first of two gatherings that brought together filmmakers committed to decolonial cinema that supported national liberation movements across the so-called “Third World.” During this time, Birri produced at least one artwork described as made “between Algiers and Rome.” Surprisingly, the piece makes no reference to the historic event. Instead, it takes the form of a small, portable theater: cut-out animal figures from an Italian magazine are staged against two paper leaves sliced with a zigzagging cut. When opened, the piece reveals an image of the desert.

While filmmakers debated the role of cinema in political liberation, Birri’s gaze turned toward nature, the animal kingdom and the vastness of the Algerian desert. While his visual work often ran parallel to his cinematic production, its focus diverged from the explicitly political themes shaping contemporary film discourse. At times, painting and cinema intersected visually—in printed programs accompanying screenings, posters or preparatory drawings. In works such as the photo-documentary Tiré Dié (1956) and the film The True Story of the First Foundation of Buenos Aires (1959), based on a painting by Argentine cartoonist Oski, still images served as points of departure for filmic development. It was with ORG—more of an experience than a conventional film—that this intersection reached its most radical point of experimentation.