Paper short abstract:

Since the left-wing coalition Frente Amplio (Broad Front, FA) took office, several funds have been created to promote the development of national audiovisual production. This paper examines the impact of these policies on the current sustained growth of Uruguayan cinema.

Paper long abstract:

Uruguay provides a case in which most of its cinema used to be low-budget, piecemeal, independent, often political, and made by amateur filmmakers. The state had never supported the sustained production of cinema or any other form of audiovisual media. It was not until 1995 that the first public fund appeared: the FONA (Fondo para el Fomento y Desarollo de la Produccion Audiovisual Nacional) was created by the Municipality of Montevideo, which, since 1990 had been in the hands of the left-wing coalition Frente Amplio (Broad Front, FA). While the creation of this fund was an important first step, the most noticeable changes have been taking place since 2004, when the FA won the national elections. Since then, several funds have been created and, in 2008, the first Film Law was passed. This law has ensured the availability of funds and has provided a legal framework to support filmmakers both at national and international levels.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it examines the most salient changes promoted by the left-wing coalition; and secondly, it explores the film Reus (2011), which was supported by all the funding bodies available to Uruguayan filmmakers and co-produced with Brazil. The analysis of both the search for funding made by these young filmmakers and specific aesthetic choices of the film, aims to illustrate the current landscape of Uruguayan film production at a time in which the left coalition, still in power, promotes the slogan 'un cine, un país'.