All Things Argentine
Juan José Campanella’s new project, supechef Javier Rodríguez in London and noir criollo in the capital
Our Substack is turning a year old! For our twelfth newsletter on this platform, we return to our roots with a dedicated issue on all things Argentine, and celebrate some important cultural anniversaries taking place this month.
Campanella to direct Mafalda as The Secret in Their Eyes turns 15
On 13th August 2009 Juan José Campanell´s El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes) was released into Argentine cinemas. Despite last-minute cuts to its production budget, and the creative risk Campanella took on with his crime thriller (a departure from his previous comedies such as The Son of the Bride) the film would go on to give Argentina its second-ever Academy Award, raising the profile of Argentine cinema with international audiences. Without its enormous success it would have been impossible to conceive of launching the Argentine Film Festival in 2012.
In recent days Campanella has announced a new project in the works. He will develop an animated series based on Argentina’s most beloved comic strip character, Mafalda. Created by Argentine cartoonist Quino - who was apparently inspired by Charlie Brown and Peanuts – the precocious 6-year old girl known for her irreverent humour and sharp observations has been a cultural icon for 60 years. Now the little girl who hates eating soup will be getting the Netflix treatment. As Campnanella told Clarin newspaper:
“For now we’re thinking about 10 episodes of 20, 22 minutes, as if it was a half hour TV episode…and the stories will always be based on Quino’s original. So for every 100 gags, there’ll be 25 from Quino. Then the rest will follow the script.”
Stay tuned for more Mafalda updates and you can watch The Secret in Their Eyes on the BFI Player with a 14-day free trial.
Gala and Kiwi premieres at Edinburgh: a new Argentine talent to watch
The 77th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival launched last week under the direction of new festival chief, Paul Rudd, formerly Head of Acquisitions at Picturehouse. Included in this year’s line-up was the world premiere yesterday of Gala and Kiwi, the first feature from Argentine director Axel Cheb Terrab.
Two old friends reunite six years after leaving school. During a wild, drunken night, they dance, laugh and share details of their sexual adventures, and some surprising details emerge. This leads them to question the foundation of their entire friendship.
Described as “dazzling filmmaking on a tight budget” Gala and Kiwi was shot entirely in Cheb Terrab’s own home in Buenos Aires - which served as the apartment for one of the characters -with the result that he literally lived and breathed the film for the duration of the shoot as he disclosed in a recent interview for the BBC
The Bitter Stems: An unsung gem of noir criollo
Voted 49th on American Cinematographer magazine’s 100 All Time Best Photographed Films, Fernando Ayala’s Bitter Stems (Los tallos amargos, Argentina, 1956) kicks off an exciting new season of Latin American noir at London’s Ciné Lumière this September.
First popularised in France, and later taken up by Hollywood from the 1940s onwards, film noir, or noir criollo as the homegrown version became known in Argentina, emerged during the Peronist years (1949–56) which saw Argentine society become deeply polarised and which, as Argentine film critic Roger Koza described “became a genre where it becomes apparent that in real like the notion of ethics was a noble but fragile idea”
An inferiority complex leads Alfredo, a reporter from Buenos Aires, into a correspondence-school scheme with clever Hungarian bartender Liudas. But the Hungarian and his fraudulent get-rich-quick scheme are not all them seem, and Alfredo’s mounting suspicions and paranoia lead to crime and tragedy
The film was rediscovered by chance in Argentina in 2014 and was restored thanks to the Film Noir Foundation. The restored 35mm print premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2016. Adding to its brilliance, the score was composed by the legendary Argentine musician Astor Piazzolla, offering a captivating soundscape combining elements of tango, jazz and classical music.
6th September, 6.10pm, Ciné Lumière Further info and tickets.
Córdoba comes to London’s Carousel Restaurant – Argentine superchef Javier Rodríguez residency in London
Almost exactly 10 years to the day since London’s Carousel restaurant opened its doors and launched their new venture along with a residency from Argentine guest chef Javier Rodríguez, the Santiago del Estero native returns to London from 20th to 24th August.
Carousel was conceived with a mission to diversify London’s food scene. According to co-founder Ed Templeton “London has so many restaurants to try but often they won’t be regional. You may have a ‘Chinese’ or a ‘Mexican’ restaurant – but within that there are so many chefs from within different regions that are all so different in style. That’s where we come in.”
Javier Rodríguez trained in top restaurants around the world and then returned to Argentina where he decided to make Córdoba (Argentina’s second largest city) his home and where he set up his restaurant El Papagayo. Rodríguez is credited with transforming the food scene in Córdoba: El Papagayo was ranked amongst the 100 Best Restaurants in Latin America, and the best restaurant in Córdoba. As a corridor connecting two buildings it also holds the title of the narrowest restaurant in Argentina, measuring just 2.40 metres wide by 32 metres long, a design inspired by Rodríguez’s time in Japan and the value given to ‘small spaces’.
“Despite the economic crisis, inflation, the pandemic, if you try to do your best, your business with flourish.” Rodríguez told La Nacion in a recent interview.
For his return residency at Carousel this week he will once again bring a menu championing regional techniques and traditions from northern Argentina including Argentine classics such as humita and asado, but with a signature twist.
You can see the full menu here and book dinner here or try Javier’s recipe for chimichurri, perfect for that late summer BBQ.
That’s all for now,
¡Saludos!
The Argentine Film Festival Team