To Hear the Birds Singing

Born in Bolivia in 1936, he studied Arts and Humanities at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, before training at the Film Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In 1961, he returned to his native country, where the following year he founded the National Council of Culture for Cinema and, between 1965 and 1966, directed the Bolivian Film Institute. Together with Óscar Soria, he laid the foundations of the film group that would later become known as Grupo Ukamau. With over half a century of experience behind him, his filmography includes short films such as ‘Revolución’ (1963, selected at Locarno) and feature films such as ‘Ukamau’ (1966), ‘Blood of the Condor’ (selected at Venice and winner of the Golden Spike in 1970), ‘The Night of San Juan’ (1971, awarded in Berlin), and ‘The Secret Nation’ (1989, Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Film Festival). He has written the poetry collection ‘Mirar por la neblina’, the autobiography ‘Memorias de un cine sublevado’, the book ‘Cine y sociedad’, and numerous essays and articles on film. In 2024, the Plurinational State of Bolivia awarded him the Cóndor de los Andes Knighthood.