According to Sportsqna, the new invention of cinema began to spread early in Argentina thanks to the migratory flow from Europe. Its first pioneers were in fact mainly immigrants who brought the new technologies of image reproduction from the old continent and created the basis for the development of the seventh art in the country. July 18, 1896 is considered the date of the first public screening in Buenos Aires of a film made with the Lumière brothers’ apparatus (although two years earlier there had already been a screening – which went unnoticed – with TA Edison’s kinetoscope) . Camera and projection cameras were imported from Europe (especially France) since 1897,
Starting from 1898 the surgeon Alejandro Posadas gave new impetus to scientific cinema by filming his operations, and the French Eugène (Eugenio) Py, already author of the first film made in Argentina, La bandera argentina (1898), experimented since 1907 forms of sound synchronization through a series of film-illustration songs (especially tangos). For some years the diffusion of the new invention was characterized by itinerant projections that toured from country to country, but soon Buenos Aires was filled with cinemas (the opening of the first, the Salón Nacional, dates back to 1900), and the first productions, by the Belgian Henry Lepage and, above all, by the Austrian Max Glücksmann, creator of a rental and distribution circuit in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. The first feature film is perhaps, but not all sources coincide, the short El fusilamiento de Dorrego (1909, but released the following year), a reenactment of a historical event shot by two Italians, Mario Gallo and Attilio Lipizzi. Feature film productions also began: the first was Amalia (1914) by Enrique García Villoso, from the novel of the same name by J. Mármol. Quirino Cristiani also made what according to many (the film was destroyed) is the first animated feature film in the world, El apóstol (1917), a satirical work on the then President of the Republic H. Yrigoyen. The film was produced by Fernando Valle, another of the pioneers of Argentine cinema, the author of a series of news programs with weekly periodicity (Film revista Valle), released continuously from 1916 to 1931. but released the following year), a re-enactment of a historical event shot by two Italians, Mario Gallo and Attilio Lipizzi. Feature film productions also began: the first was Amalia (1914) by Enrique García Villoso, from the novel of the same name by J. Mármol. Quirino Cristiani also made what according to many (the film was destroyed) is the first animated feature film in the world, El apóstol (1917), a satirical work on the then President of the Republic H. Yrigoyen. The film was produced by Fernando Valle, another of the pioneers of Argentine cinema, the author of a series of news programs with weekly periodicity (Film revista Valle), released continuously from 1916 to 1931. but released the following year), a re-enactment of a historical event shot by two Italians, Mario Gallo and Attilio Lipizzi. Feature film productions also began: the first was Amalia (1914) by Enrique García Villoso, from the novel of the same name by J. Mármol. Quirino Cristiani also made what according to many (the film was destroyed) is the first animated feature film in the world, El apóstol (1917), a satirical work on the then President of the Republic H. Yrigoyen. The film was produced by Fernando Valle, another of the pioneers of Argentine cinema, the author of a series of news programs with weekly periodicity (Film revista Valle), released continuously from 1916 to 1931.
About two hundred films were made during the silent period, although production and consumption went through different phases. In fact, there was no solid industry, and as far as distribution is concerned, it was the Hollywood companies that guaranteed a circuit throughout the Latin American continent (since 1920 they opened branches in Buenos Aires). Leaving aside the news, local production remained discontinuous, often linked to artisanal experiences. However, there was no shortage of directors of great personalities who initiated the trends characterizing classic Argentine cinema, such as urban popular melodrama, of which one of the greatest representatives was José Agustín Ferreyra. Since his debut feature film, El tango de la muerte (1917), but also in films made after the advent of sound, like Calles de Buenos Aires (1934) and Ayúdame a vivir (1936), Ferreyra showed a strong inclination towards popular dramaturgy, made up of stories of love and death. Over the years, cinema became an increasingly important social phenomenon in Argentina; the rooms increased, and the public, made up mostly of the middle and upper middle class of the city, began to flow in abundance. The first magazines were also born, such as “Imparcial Film” (1918), “Cine Universal” (1919), “La Novela del cine” (1922), “Bobby Film” (1924), “Astros y Estrellas” (1928). and the public, made up mostly of the middle and upper middle class of the city, began to flow in abundance. The first magazines were also born, such as “Imparcial Film” (1918), “Cine Universal” (1919), “La Novela del cine” (1922), “Bobby Film” (1924), “Astros y Estrellas” (1928). and the public, made up mostly of the middle and upper middle class of the city, began to flow in abundance. The first magazines were also born, such as “Imparcial Film” (1918), “Cine Universal” (1919), “La Novela del cine” (1922), “Bobby Film” (1924), “Astros y Estrellas” (1928).
