Jorge Preloran
Encyclopedia
Jorge Ricardo Preloran was a prolific Argentine
filmmaker and a pioneer in ethnobiographic film making.
to an Argentine father and an Irish American
mother. He made a short film, Venganza, in 1954, and left Argentina to enroll at UCLA, graduating with a film studies
major in 1961. Holding dual citizenship, he served with in the U.S. military in West Germany
. He earned a grant shrtly afterward and began a career as an amateur filmmaker. Preloran sought to redefine the genre of ethnographic films, moving away from depicting their subjects as exotic or primitive, striving to make films that, as he told Americas magazine, "do not use the people about whom they are made."
His 1969 film Hermógenes Cayo (Imaginero) was recently listed as one of the ten best Argentine films of all times. In making this film, he spent months with the subject (artist Hermógenes Cayo) prior to shooting, and followed many of the subject's suggestions in the actual film-making. This relationship between filmmaker and subject was to be repeated through his career. Preloran made a total of 21 films in Argentina until 1980.
His 1980 film Luther Metke at 94
was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Preloran taught at the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA
from 1976 to 1994. He died in Culver City in 2009, at age 75.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
filmmaker and a pioneer in ethnobiographic film making.
Life and career
Preloran was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
to an Argentine father and an Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
mother. He made a short film, Venganza, in 1954, and left Argentina to enroll at UCLA, graduating with a film studies
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
major in 1961. Holding dual citizenship, he served with in the U.S. military in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. He earned a grant shrtly afterward and began a career as an amateur filmmaker. Preloran sought to redefine the genre of ethnographic films, moving away from depicting their subjects as exotic or primitive, striving to make films that, as he told Americas magazine, "do not use the people about whom they are made."
His 1969 film Hermógenes Cayo (Imaginero) was recently listed as one of the ten best Argentine films of all times. In making this film, he spent months with the subject (artist Hermógenes Cayo) prior to shooting, and followed many of the subject's suggestions in the actual film-making. This relationship between filmmaker and subject was to be repeated through his career. Preloran made a total of 21 films in Argentina until 1980.
His 1980 film Luther Metke at 94
Luther Metke at 94
Luther Metke at 94 is a 1980 Argentine short documentary film directed by Jorge Preloran. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....
was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Preloran taught at the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
from 1976 to 1994. He died in Culver City in 2009, at age 75.