Daniel Yafalián

Nieves is my oldest neighbor, in every way. He has just turned 90 and for a long time we have lived next to each other, balcony to balcony, in the Old City of Montevideo. I thought I knew her. During the confinement of 2020, filming her with my cell phone and trying to keep a distance of two meters, I discovered a woman undone in light and blooming in stars.

The story of an unfinished documentary about Alfredo Zitarrosa and that of his director, Francisco "Papico" Cibils.

When I became deaf at the age of 23, I decided to get a cochlear implant. As I began to regain my memories of lost sounds, I asked myself: How does someone who doesn't hear listen?

Between 1950 and 1952, the Uruguayan essayist, critic and writer José Pedro Díaz created a film diary with images that display a range of diverse interests: social observation, the portrait of the artistic-intellectual community in Europe and a look at domestic cinema from travels, portraying his wife, the poet Amanda Berenguer. As a perfect complement he also had a literary diary. Both form a unique testimonial chronicle: how to read the script and see what was filmed. This documentary deals with that lesser-known area of Díaz's work.

Between 1950 and 1952, the Uruguayan essayist, critic and writer José Pedro Díaz created a film diary with images that display a range of diverse interests: social observation, the portrait of the artistic-intellectual community in Europe and a look at domestic cinema from travels, portraying his wife, the poet Amanda Berenguer. As a perfect complement he also had a literary diary. Both form a unique testimonial chronicle: how to read the script and see what was filmed. This documentary deals with that lesser-known area of Díaz's work.

Hilda es una mujer solitaria que vive en el pueblo de Concepción y que intencionalmente quiebra cualquier tipo de relación afectiva con las personas de su entorno cercano. Su vida se ve interrumpida por el aviso de que su hijo viene a visitarla después de varios años. Así, comienza los preparativos para mejorar su casa y su imagen, que han decaído en los últimos tiempos. Cuando la fecha se acerca, su hijo cancela la visita y la pospone por tiempo indeterminado. Ahora Hilda deberá vivir un verano en el pasado.

From found footage and using the natural deterioration, scratches, fungus and noises of the original material, the different layers of sound, music, text and their interaction with the image raise questions about the idea of nation, identity and the passage of time.

Love story between a hopeless woman and the one that saves her, united by camaraderie, solidarity, and complicity.

The work of the coffee vendors is a fundamental part of the Mercado Modelo, the main center of commerce and storage of food in Montevideo. Following its move to the outskirts of the city, the Market made headlines for several months. However, these workers did not appear in any media reports. This documentary short seeks to give them a space and a voice so we can listen to the valuable things they have to say.

«Acto de violencia en una joven periodista» es una película filmada en 1988 y lanzada en VHS en 1989; una misteriosa obra de culto del cine uruguayo rodeada de extrañas teorías sobre su creador, Manuel Lamas, del que nada se sabía. Hasta ahora.

«Acto de violencia en una joven periodista» es una película filmada en 1988 y lanzada en VHS en 1989; una misteriosa obra de culto del cine uruguayo rodeada de extrañas teorías sobre su creador, Manuel Lamas, del que nada se sabía. Hasta ahora.

«Acto de violencia en una joven periodista» es una película filmada en 1988 y lanzada en VHS en 1989; una misteriosa obra de culto del cine uruguayo rodeada de extrañas teorías sobre su creador, Manuel Lamas, del que nada se sabía. Hasta ahora.

Through the years and from a very intimated point of view, this is the story of the adaptation process of two Syrian refugee's families to a faraway country called Uruguay, they completely disown.

Juan tries to rescue Ulises from oblivion by showing his latest paintings, which have been hidden for 20 years. A documentary that is also a love story between two free men and that marks the debut as a director of Sergio de León.

Retrato biográfico y crónica sobre el movimiento obrero y la izquierda uruguaya, “Conversaciones con Turiansky” combina dos relatos. El primero retrata al hijo de inmigrantes, al ingeniero apasionado por el misterio de la electricidad, al hombre enamorado, al cinéfilo. El otro sitúa al protagonista en su tiempo: las luchas sindicales, el avance del autoritarismo, la cárcel y los desafíos del presente. En ambos están presentes la lucidez, el compromiso, la discreta ternura y aún el humor de Wladimir Turiansky.

A Belmonte, interesado en retratar al ser humano, sus pliegues, su desmesura, se le acerca una muestra de pintura en el Museo de Artes Visuales de Montevideo, pero él está más ocupado pensando en los cambios que vive su familia: su ex mujer está embarazada, fruto de la relación que mantiene con otro hombre, y percibe que su hija, Celeste, pasará menos tiempo con él cuando nazca su hermano. Belmonte necesita la brújula que le supone estar con su hija, preparar su almuerzo, acompañarla a la escuela y, sobre todo, comenzar a compartir con ella su mundo interior sin esconder las preocupaciones, aunque sean propias de un adulto.

A ship, fifteen men, the river. A sensory film, a journey towards introspection. A portrait of loneliness, labour and absence, on board this floating society trapped in time. Could it be the reflection of our own « life on board »?

A ship, fifteen men, the river. A sensory film, a journey towards introspection. A portrait of loneliness, labour and absence, on board this floating society trapped in time. Could it be the reflection of our own « life on board »?

A ship, fifteen men, the river. A sensory film, a journey towards introspection. A portrait of loneliness, labour and absence, on board this floating society trapped in time. Could it be the reflection of our own « life on board »?

An emotional visual portrait starring fans of the most important melodic singer-songwriter that Uruguay had, the founder and leader of Los Iracundos, Eduardo Franco.

El candidato, segundo largo dirigido por Daniel Hendler, narra la historia de Martín Marchand (Diego De Paula), un empresario que decide aceptar una candidatura política. Para lanzar su campaña, convoca durante un fin de semana a un equipo de publicistas, técnicos y asesores a su chacra, para que definan su perfil y elaboren spots de campaña en concordancia. Aunque pronto se revelará que algunos de los invitados están más preocupados en minar la carrera política de Marchand y que otros pretenden presentarlo como un personaje de ficción.

Miguel Ángel García Mazziotti, a Río de la Plata's decadent showbiz gay figure, receives the visit of his daughter Virginia, of whom he has been distanced for years. "The Fat", as everybody calls him in Punta del Este, openly rejects her visit, but when realizes will become a grandfather he can't help getting thrilled and celebrate Virginia's happiness. As a result they share a real familiar weekend that, as many families, to be happy it has to be fake.

This is a documentary film about a stilt village in the middle of Santa Marta's Marsh, and the passion pushing its inhabitants to build, on the water, a soccer field.

This is a documentary film about a stilt village in the middle of Santa Marta's Marsh, and the passion pushing its inhabitants to build, on the water, a soccer field.

This is a documentary film about a stilt village in the middle of Santa Marta's Marsh, and the passion pushing its inhabitants to build, on the water, a soccer field.

A forgotten national ballet company set in a theater under construction is shaken into life by the arrival of Julio Bocca, one of the best ballet dancers of all time.

The life of a seal is pretty unfair. During mating season, the strong ones take ten females each, nine males stay without a partner. This wildlife comedy observes a colony of seals and tells the story of one of them: We follow him through the crude beauty of birth, being fed by his mother, and being pushed away when the next new-born is due. His adolescent fight to define his place in life - and finally his efforts during mating season. Fresh, funny and with entertaining narration, the film switches from the sex life of seals to our own manners of courtship and mating. Isn't our life all about reproducing ourselves? What does us humans divide from mammals when it comes to love, sex and reproduction? Aren't we all seals after all...?

Gastón (Jorge Temponi) is very attached to technology and is still in love with an ex-girlfriend who left him. He inherits an old house from his grandfather far from the city and must travel there accompanied by Américo (Carlos Frasca), a clerk somewhat depressed by his old age. The driver and owner of the truck in which they travel is Beto (Jorge Esmoris), a carrier with a somewhat murky past. The place where they are going was visited by the English naturalist Charles Darwin in 1833, where he collected fundamental information to later develop the theory of evolution.

Desde que tienen memoria, Olga, Teresa y Magdalena son amigas. Después de un par de años casi sin verse, el divorcio de Teresa (Verónica Perrotta) les da la excusa perfecta para retomar una tradición que mantuvieron durante años: unas vacaciones las tres solas, en verano, lejos de parejas, familia, amigos… A poco de estar juntas en una casita precaria y con pocas comodidades, se hace evidente que ya no son las mismas…

Dissatisfied with his new life (and wife), a man tries to insinuate himself back into the home of the ex-wife and daughter he left ten years before.

La historia del militante del Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros Jorge Tiscornia, preso político uruguayo, durante 4646 días a partir del año 1972, en el Penal de Libertad, de las curiosas estrategias que las víctimas de la persecución política para sobrevivir y del registro minucioso que llevó de ese período oculto en un par de zuecos con plataforma de madera que él mismo pergeñó.

The Crop of the Invisible Flower is a daily painting of a group of people who have been struck by forzed dissapearances on Uruguay. The documentary follows them through 5 years, starting from the first triump of the left on the country, exploring reality through their eyes. The movie also explores the search for the truth on a society divided by justice and memory.

The Crop of the Invisible Flower is a daily painting of a group of people who have been struck by forzed dissapearances on Uruguay. The documentary follows them through 5 years, starting from the first triump of the left on the country, exploring reality through their eyes. The movie also explores the search for the truth on a society divided by justice and memory.

The Crop of the Invisible Flower is a daily painting of a group of people who have been struck by forzed dissapearances on Uruguay. The documentary follows them through 5 years, starting from the first triump of the left on the country, exploring reality through their eyes. The movie also explores the search for the truth on a society divided by justice and memory.

Director Mariana Viñoles documents her return from Belgium to Uruguay after five years of absence and tells the story of her father, her two brothers and an intimate friend, all of whom decided to migrate from the country during an economic crisis.

An intimate documentary portrait of an exceptional couple who live in a suburb of Montevideo: Julia, a 65-year-old transsexual whose new gender identity has finally been recognised (after twelve years) by the Uruguayan state, and Ignacio, her lover, a former construction worker with a troubled past. Inseparable for 20 years, the couple are now preparing for marriage. Aldo Garay’s camera follows Julia and Ignacio’s joys and worries, patiently revealing the sources of the strength of their relationship.

An intimate documentary portrait of an exceptional couple who live in a suburb of Montevideo: Julia, a 65-year-old transsexual whose new gender identity has finally been recognised (after twelve years) by the Uruguayan state, and Ignacio, her lover, a former construction worker with a troubled past. Inseparable for 20 years, the couple are now preparing for marriage. Aldo Garay’s camera follows Julia and Ignacio’s joys and worries, patiently revealing the sources of the strength of their relationship.

A movie-theater employee adjusts to a new life as the cinema he's worked at for over 25 years faces closure.

Basado en hechos reales, "Hiroshima" se distingue por ser un musical silencioso. Juan es cantante de un grupo de rock pero no es una persona que precisamente hable demasiado. Durante la noche, trabaja en una panadería y durante el día, duerme. "Hiroshima" es la historia de uno de estos días y cuenta lo que le pasa cuando se levanta.

Birds of Passage presents a lyrical journey through the everyday lives of two young Uruguayan songwriters. Ernesto and Yisela have moved to the capital, leaving behind their respective hometowns on the borders of Brazil and Argentina. After many years of composing songs that reflect their origins, both decide to explore new horizons and each seeks to fulfill the dream of recording a first album. While Yisela struggles to reconcile the emerging possibilities of a career in Uruguay with her plans to move to Argentina, Ernesto confronts personal conflicts that threaten to sabotage his creative passion. The film fuses the arts of documentary film and music, interweaving the songs and stories of these two young composers. With vérité cinematography and an unforgettable soundtrack, Birds of Passage explores the challenges of being a young artist, and the art of searching, inside and outside of oneself.

Jara (Horacio Camandule) es un hombre solitario, tan corpulento como tímido, que trabaja de guarda de seguridad en un supermercado de Montevideo. Se encarga de controlar los monitores desde un cuarto. Dado que tiene el turno de noche y no hay mucho movimiento, hace más o menos lo mismo que haría en su casa: ver películas, hacer crucigramas y escuchar música. Pero un día su vida cambia al descubrir por casualidad a Julia (Leonor Svarcas), una de las mujeres de la limpieza. Al principio, Jara se limita a observarla a través de las cámaras de seguridad, pero no tarda en empezar a seguirla cuando va al cine, a la playa, e incluso cuando sale con otro hombre. Así, pronto la vida de Jara consistirá en una serie de pequeños rituales y rutinas alrededor de Julia.

A north to south canoe trip along quiet bodies of water of Uruguay, exploring the fauna and flora amidst the wilderness.

The Silva family is pioneer and a role model within the community; it shows values and the goal to not let the candombe tradition fade away. Not only do they have an internal hierarchy, but also in his neighbourhood, Waldemar “Cachila” Silva is a respected leader. Cachila decide to pass on his legacy to his sons Matias and Wellington, who should now lead the family business, afro descendants playing candombe, a drum rhythm for the carnival contest and keep the privilege place obtained by the family. Patriarchy, hierarchy and cultural traditions are the concepts that drive this documentary about the life of a man of African descent and a dysfunctional family trying to perpetuate its power, which is crucial for the future of a culture.

In this musical documentary we are shown a period in the cultural history of Uruguay after the dictatorship ended, told through the story of Tabaré Rivero and his rock group. There are anecdotes from people who took part in that story and archive material, and we are treated to an intimate and amusing reflection about the role of the artist in contemporary society, especially in Latin America.

Award-winning documentary about how one Uruguayan leftist survived solitary confinement during the dirty war. The story of former Tupamaro guerilla fighter, Henry Engler, whose prolonged confinement and torture during the Uruguayan dictatorship led to a mental breakdown. Today Dr. Engler is a Swedish citizen and a scientist renowned for his research into Alzheimer’s disease. In this impressive documentary, the scientist visits the places of his painful past, painting an intimate and disturbing portrait of prison life under the dictatorship.

This documentary tells the story of a group of Uruguayan political and social activists who began or intensified their activities in the 1960s. What emerges is how diverse the Uruguayan left was in thought and action in fields like attitudes to armed struggle, the place of women and children, the historical significance of the Frente Amplio Party and the ways in which the old ideals have found expression - or not, as the case may be - under the first left wing national government in the history of the country. The documentary was made for Casa Bertolt Brecht, and is geared to stimulating debate and training new generations of activists.

After 22 years an old photographer finds lost negatives of El Popular, the newspaper he worked for when it was closed down by the dictatorship in 1973. A teenager is looking for the way to deliver to it's owner the treasure he had found playing in the garage as a child, inside a hole in the wall. A building reveals a secret that has been hidden inside it: fifty thousand ever enduring negatives with the untold story of a country.

October 2004. Uruguay. After three years away Mariana returns to her country to be reunited with her family and also to vote. After the economic crisis that plunged the country into a terrible depression, Uruguay is on the brink of a real change. We are shown day to day life in Melo, a small provincial city, we are given an intimate insight into a family of militant leftists, and we accompany a Latin American people in the month leading up to a historic political event: the first ever election victory in Uruguay of a party from the political left, the Frente Amplio.

Basilio es muy buena gente. Tal vez demasiado buena, pues todos se aprovechan de él. Su esposa lo abandona, sus amigos lo ridiculizan, y es tanta su tristeza que ha decidido suicidarse. Pero justo en el momento en que llevaría a cabo su acto fatalista, recibe una llamada a un celular que no es el suyo. A partir de entonces su vida cambiará hasta encontrar el verdadero valor de la amistad y el sentido de vivir. Las ocurrencias de Irene, la misión de Vera y la labor de Méndez (que da título a la película) harán cambiar la forma de ser y pensar de Basi.

The Punta de Rieles prison was where most female political prisoners were incarcerated during the dictatorship in Uruguay. The way up to the building led through “the meadow” where there were animals grazing, and the prison itself was surrounded with flowers. The place seemed eminently liveable, almost comfortable, and at first sight there was no sign of the silent struggle going on behind those walls. This documentary is an attempt to reconstruct life at the prison through the testimony of some of the hundreds of women who were there and who resisted the military regime's attempts to grind them down and destroy them.

During the 2004 electoral campaign, before the left came to power for the first time ever in the history of Uruguay, a film crew sets out to record the opinions of young people who are going to vote for the left, and to find out what they think about politics, militant action, the left wing parties and citizen participation. Under the impact of today's global economic slowdown and political crisis, stereotypes of militant action have changed since May 1968 and the utopian thought of the 1970s, and in this documentary some of these new forms of political thought find expression.

The biggest peaceful demonstration of resistance to an authoritarian regime in Latin America in the 1970s was the general strike whereby Uruguayan workers and students rejected the military coup of 27 June 1973. In this documentary we follow what happened from two perspectives: that of the people who took part in the mass mobilisation, and that of those who captured those events in images.

The biggest peaceful demonstration of resistance to an authoritarian regime in Latin America in the 1970s was the general strike whereby Uruguayan workers and students rejected the military coup of 27 June 1973. In this documentary we follow what happened from two perspectives: that of the people who took part in the mass mobilisation, and that of those who captured those events in images.

The documentary looks in the life and work of Mario Benedetti, especially in his poetic work, the keys to an illustrious Montevideo. A man who has had to live several exiles and has received all the awards that this world can give. But above all, the affection of an unconditional, massive and faithful audience that follows him everywhere and pampers him every day with their applause and reading. A sad childhood, a youth full of work and reading, and a maturity full of commitments marked Benedetti. His work testifies the history, that which only artists can tell.

Montevideo, Uruguay. Jacobo Köller, el dueño de una modesta fábrica de calcetines, arrastra una vida gris y de una monotonía asfixiante. Su relación con Marta, su empleada de confianza, es estrictamente laboral y está marcada por el silencio y la rutina. Esta monotonía se ve súbitamente amenazada por el anuncio de la inesperada visita de Herman, el hermano de Jacobo, que vive en el extranjero, y con el que ha perdido contacto desde hace años. Es entonces cuando Jacobo le pide ayuda a Marta para afrontar una situación tan incómoda. Tres personalidades aparentemente inofensivas: tres clases de soledad.

31º October 2004: for the first time, the political party Frente Amplio is on the verge of winning the presidential elections. Líber Seregni, one of the founders of this political party, since 1971 fought for that possibility. For ten years he had been in prison for his ideals. His wife and family were silent observers of this long trip to build democracy. This documentary is about that day, together with Seregni's wife, daughter and grand-daughters from the moment the votes were cast up to the results that same night. The end of a journey of love, hope and trust.

31º October 2004: for the first time, the political party Frente Amplio is on the verge of winning the presidential elections. Líber Seregni, one of the founders of this political party, since 1971 fought for that possibility. For ten years he had been in prison for his ideals. His wife and family were silent observers of this long trip to build democracy. This documentary is about that day, together with Seregni's wife, daughter and grand-daughters from the moment the votes were cast up to the results that same night. The end of a journey of love, hope and trust.

El viaje hacia el mar es una película uruguaya de 2003 basada en el cuento homónimo de Juan José Morosoli, dirigida por Guillermo Casanova y protagonizada por Hugo Arana, Diego Delgrossi, Julio César Castro, Julio Calcagno, Héctor Guido y César Troncoso. Fue nominada en los Premios Goya 2004 a mejor film extranjero de habla hispana y ganadora del Colón de Oro del 29º Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva. En el verano de 1963, en un bar de la ciudad de Minas, el sepulturero Quintana (Julio Calcagno), Rataplán (Diego Delgrossi), barrendero y Siete y Tres Diez (Julio César Castro), vendedor de loterías, esperan a Rodríguez (Hugo Arana) que los va a llevar en su camión a ver el mar por primera vez. Los acompañan El Vasco (Héctor Guido) y un Desconocido (César Troncoso) que se une a último momento. A lo largo del viaje los personajes irán revelando su forma de ver el mundo y vivir la vida.

At the time of the dictatorship in Uruguay, the University was one of the main centres of repression and a channel for the dissemination of state ideology. The institution's freedoms and rights that had been won through the process of autonomy and co-government were revoked. This documentary shows us university students during that period, their activist strategies, their struggles for participation, and the long road they travelled before finally playing an important role in the transition to democracy.

La trama narra las vicisitudes de un músico recién salido de la prisión llamado Tuleque (Jorge Esmoris), que busca volver a tocar con su banda musical, Los Chevrolés (integrada por los actores Rubén Rada, Leo Maslíah y Hugo Fattoruso), cuyos miembros están desperdigados por la ciudad, ganándose la vida con diversas actividades.

In Montevideo, Sonja cares for her invalid mother, works in a garment factory, and has little going for her. Her neighbor Modesto, an older man who lives alone, types anonymous letters to her. Her mother is difficult -- demanding and miserable, afraid of death. Sonja meets Ernesto, a nurseryman, and finally there may be some possibilities in her life. Does freedom beckon?

Javi, Seba y Leche son tres amigos que se pasan el día sin nada que hacer. Reacios a trabajar, a estudiar o a comprometerse, su diversión consiste en juntarse en el barrio a fumar, tomar cerveza y criticar esperando el próximo domingo.