50 Film reels (50 completed films and 1 film series; 110,600 feet of original film outtakes (51 hours); 412 hours of audiotape; 31 digital books)
22 Linear feet (Papers and photographs)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Film reels
Place:
Patagonia (Argentina and Chile)
Argentina
Date:
1954-circa 2008
Summary:
Documentary filmmaker Jorge Prelorán was best known for his intimate approach to ethnographic film, a style known as "ethnobiography." The majority of Prelorán's films were shot in rural areas of Argentina, particularly the Andean highlands and the Pampas (plains), often in communities of mixed Indian and Spanish heritage. Prelorán documented a wide range of subjects, including art, folk crafts, agriculture, ranching, markets, religious rituals and festivals, and social and cultural change. This collection contains edited films and videos, film outtakes, audio tapes, photographic prints and transparencies, digital books, correspondence, production files, scripts, project files, and press clippings spanning 1954-2008.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains edited films and videos, film outtakes, audio tapes, photographic prints and transparencies, digital books, correspondence, production files, scripts, project files, and press clippings spanning 1954-2008.
The majority of Prelorán's films were shot in rural areas of Argentina, particularly the Andean highlands and the Pampas (plains), often in communities of mixed Indian and Spanish heritage. Prelorán documented a wide range of subjects, including art, folk crafts, agriculture, ranching, markets, religious rituals and festivals, and social and cultural change. Several films focus on natural history and science. There are also a number of experimental and fiction films.
Prelorán formed close friendships with many of the subjects of his films and corresponded with them long after the films were completed. This is reflected in the paper records, as is Prelorán's wide circle of colleagues and collaborators, including anthropologists, musicians, animators, historians, painters, writers, photographers, current and former students at UCLA, and fellow filmmakers. The extensive collection of press clippings, screening notices, and festival catalogs documents Prelorán's influence in Argentina, Europe, and the United States.
In the series of digital books, Prelorán presents the personal stories of individuals involved in creative work. Some books feature subjects profiled in the films, updating or expanding on their stories.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 11 series: (1) Completed Films and Videos, 1954-circa 2008; (2) Film Outtakes, 1960s-1980s; (3) Audio, 1969-2008; (4) Correspondence, 1954-2005 (bulk 1967-1992); (5) Production Files, 1961-1998; (6) Project Files, 1967-1995; (7) UCLA, 1968-2005 (bulk 1980s); (8) Press Clippings, 1960-2005; (9) Photographs, 1961-2000; (10) Books, 1994-1998, undated; (11) Electronic Files, circa 2000-circa 2006
Biographical Note:
Documentary filmmaker Jorge Prelorán was best known for his intimate approach to ethnographic film, a style known as "ethnobiography." In films such as Hermógenes Cayo (Imaginero) (1970), Los Hijos de Zerda (Zerda's Children) (1974), and Zulay Frente al Siglo XXI (Zulay Facing the 21st Century) (1989), Prelorán's protagonists tell their personal stories, while also revealing the stories of their communities and cultures. Prelorán worked in Latin America and the United States, but primarily in his native country of Argentina. His career spanned from 1954 to 2008, including nearly twenty years as a film professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Prelorán was born May 28, 1933 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His father, an engineer, was Argentine and had studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he met his wife, an American. Prelorán grew up speaking both Spanish and English. Initially pursuing a career in architecture, he studied at the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires. He made his first film, Venganza, with neighborhood friends in Buenos Aires in 1954. The film won the Beginner's Festival of Cine Club Argentina that same year. Prelorán was accepted as an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, and studied architecture there for one year. In 1956 he withdrew from UC Berkeley and was drafted into the US Army. Prelorán served in West Germany until 1958. Upon his return he changed educational plans and began formal study of filmmaking, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Motion Pictures from UCLA in 1960.
Shortly before the end of his service in the US Army, Prelorán married Elsa Dondi, a former classmate from Buenos Aires. They lived together in Los Angeles until Elsa returned to Argentina for the birth of their daughter, Adriana, in 1961. The couple separated shortly thereafter.
Prelorán's professional career as a filmmaker began in 1961 with a commission from the Tinker Foundation of New York for a series of films on the Argentine gaucho. In the course of shooting for these films, Prelorán traveled extensively throughout Argentina, visiting many locations in Patagonia and in the northwest where he would later return to make many of his films. From 1963-1969, Prelorán was under contract at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán to produce educational films; he also produced a series of short films on Argentine folklife with support from Fondo Nacional de las Artes and under the mentorship of folklorist Augusto Raúl Cortazar, Ph.D.
In the late 1960s, Prelorán became involved with UCLA's Ethnographic Film Program and in 1970 he returned to UCLA as a lecturer for two semesters. Later that year he was a fellow at Harvard University's Film Study Center, where he produced the English-language version of Imaginero (Hermógenes Cayo). Prelorán was the recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships, in 1971 and 1975, and used those opportunities to produce quite a number of films, including Damacio Caitruz (Araucanians of Ruca Choroy).
Prelorán remarried in 1972. His wife, Mabel Freddi, became a collaborator on his films. She wrote the screenplay for Mi Tia Nora (My Aunt Nora) (1983) and co-directed Zulay Frente al Siglo XXI (Zulay Facing the 21st Century) (1989), among other credited and un-credited roles. After the Argentine military coup of March 1976 and the disappearances of fellow filmmaker Raymundo Gleyzer and Mabel's niece, Haydee, the Preloráns became fearful for their own safety. They fled to the United States, a move that would become permanent. Prelorán accepted a position as associate professor at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. He later joined the faculty as a tenured professor.
During his time at UCLA, Prelorán was twice selected as a Fulbright Scholar, in 1987 and 1994. He continued to produce films, including the Academy Award-nominated documentary short Luther Metke at 94 (1980) and the 7-hour natural history television series Patagonia (1992). After retiring in 1994, Prelorán continued to mentor film students as Professor Emeritus; he also began work in a new medium, creating a series of digital books, "Nos = Otros" ("Sages Amongst Us") (unpublished), featuring individuals engaged in creative and educational pursuits.
Prelorán died at his home in Culver City, CA at the age of 75 on March 28, 2009.
Sources Consulted
UCLA, School of Theater, Film and Television. "Jorge Prelorán 1933 - 2009." Obituary. Last modified March 31, 2009. Accessed April 1, 2009. http://tft.ucla.edu/news/obituary
Jorge Prelorán Collection. Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Rivera, Fermín. Huellas Y Memoria de Jorge Prelorán. Documentary film. 2010.
Woo, Elaine."Jorge Prelorán dies at 75; Argentine filmmaker and former UCLA professor." Los Angeles Times, April 5, 2009. Web. 29 Apr 2009.
1933 -- Born May 28 in Buenos Aires, Argentina
1952-1954 -- Studies at the College of Architecture, Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, Argentina
1954 -- Completes first film, Venganza, a fictional short
1955 -- Studies at the College of Architecture, University of California at Berkeley
1956-1958 -- Drafted into United States Army, stationed in Schwetzingen, West Germany
1959-1960 -- Earns Bachelor of Arts in Motion Pictures from UCLA
1961-1963 -- Produces films on the Argentine gaucho for the Tinker Foundation, New York
1963-1969 -- Produces films at the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina
1968 -- Attends the First International Colloquium on Ethnographic Film at UCLA
1969 -- Shoots film for The Warao People in Venezuela, under a grant from the Ford Foundation to the Ethnographic Film Program at UCLA
1970 -- Lecturer at UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Fellow at the Film Study Center, Harvard University
1971 -- Receives first Guggenheim Fellowship; completes several film projects in Argentina
1975 -- Receives second Guggenheim Fellowship; continues filming in Argentina
1976 -- Moves to United States Associate professor at UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television
1978 -- Guest of Honor at the 2nd Margaret Mead Ethnographic Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History, New York
1980 -- Academy Award nominee for Luther Metke at 94
1985 -- Guest at the White House for a State Dinner in honor of Argentine President Raul Alfonsin
1986 -- Naturalized as a United States citizen
1987 -- First selection as Fulbright Scholar; begins production of the series Patagonia, en Busca de su Remoto Pasado
1994 -- Second selection as Fulbright Scholar; completes pre-production for the narrative feature film "Vairoletto: The Last Gaucho Outlaw" Retires from UCLA as professor emeritus
2009 -- Dies on March 28 in Culver City, California
Related Materials:
The Human Studies Film Archives holds a copy of Fermín Rivera's edited biographical documentary film, Huellas y Memoria de Jorge Prelorán (HSFA 2015.1.27), as well as transcripts of interviews conducted with Jorge and Mabel Prelorán for the film (in Spanish).
The Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin, holds the original film for four titles Prelorán produced for the Tinker Foundation (New York, NY). These are: The Llanero; The Gaucho of Corrientes; The Gaucho of the Pampas; and The Gaucho of Salta. The Ransom Center has both English and Spanish versions of these titles. These four films were preserved in 2010 and 2011 with funding from the Tinker Foundation. HSFA holds high quality video masters of all four titles. A fifth film produced for the Tinker Foundation, El Gaucho Argentino, Hoy (The Argentine Gaucho, Today), is held at the HSFA in its Spanish version only.
The Arthur Hall Collection at Temple University, Phildadelphia, Pennsylvania and Ile Ife Films in Belfast, Maine hold a copy of The Unvictorious One that differs from the two versions held at the HSFA.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the Human Studies Film Archives in two accessions. The first accession, 2007-10, contains the edited films, outtakes, audio recordings, papers, and photographs and was donated by Jorge Prelorán. Materials had been stored at Prelorán's home office and home editing suite before they were packed by the processing archivist and sent to the HSFA. The second accession, 2011-07, contains the digital books and some additional photographs. This accession was donated by Mabel Prelorán. These materials had also been stored at Prelorán's home office and were sent to the HSFA by Mabel Prelorán.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Various copyrights and restrictions on commercial use apply to the reproduction or publication of film, video, audio, photographs, and the digital books.
Access to the Jorge Prelorán collection requires an appointment.
102 Items (50 completed films and 1 film series; 93,685 feet of 16mm film (43.5 hours) and 100 minutes videotape)
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1954-circa 2008
Scope and Contents:
Jorge Prelorán completed more than 50 films during his career. He deposited 47 of these films and one multi-part film series at the HSFA. Several titles in the filmography are not included here; those titles were not in Prelorán's possession at the time of accession are not held at the HSFA. Many other titles have an alternate version, second language version, or both. Multiple versions are noted in individual descriptions below. Availability of reference copies is also noted below. Reference copies may be viewed on site at HSFA; some may be purchased for personal or research use. Several titles are currently in distribution by Documentary Educational Resources (DER).
For all film titles there is original film and original audio. Some titles have preservation film and audio. For all video titles there is original video. Each description below includes: HSFA film number, title, total film footage in feet (if applicable), total running time, and description of the original film or video. All film is 16mm, unless otherwise noted; video is in various formats, as noted. Contact the archives for information on availability of access copies. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Arrangement:
The series is divided into two sub-series: (1.1) Films directed by Prelorán, 1954-circa 2008; (1.2) Films directed by others, circa 1958, circa 1969
Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
510 Feet (silent, color positive film; 14 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.79
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1996
Scope and Contents:
Re-edited version includes additional footage and inter-titles of a poem by Langston Hughes not found in the original.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
The date of this re-edited, shorter version is uncertain, however it is later than the original release version.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Documentary film about La Cueva de las Manos (the Cave of the Painted Hands) in Alto Río Pinturas, Argentina. The cave's thousands of painted handprints and hunting scenes were created by pre-Tehuelche Indians between 6000 and 9000 years ago. Film was shot in the 1960s and first released in 1971. In 1981, Prelorán re-edited and shortened the film, and produced an English language version. The HSFA holds three versions.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
381 Feet (sound, color positive film; 10.5 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.74
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1988
Scope and Contents:
Re-edited, shorter version.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
381 Feet (sound, color positive film; 10.5 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.34
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1971
1981
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Educational film documents the birth and first flight of the Sappho sparganura, the red-tailed comet hummingbird, in the remote Santa Barbara Mountains, Salta Province, Argentina. Film was shot in the 1960s by Francisco Contino. Editing and post-production were done by Prelorán and the film was released in 1971.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Documentary film about a cattle auction of 6000 head at a large ranch on the plains of La Pampa Province, Argentina. Film was shot in the 1960s and released in 1971.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Travelogue film documents the natural beauty and historic structures of Mackinac Island, Michigan, USA. Film was shot during the summer of 1955 while Prelorán was working on the island and was completed in 1958.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Ethnographic film documents life in a valley of the Llanos Riojanos, San Juan Province, western Argentina. Shot over several years, the film shows both tradition and change and features narration by local residents. Film was shot in the 1960s and released in 1972.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
3,250 Feet (sound, color positive film; 89 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.37
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1972
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Ethnographic film documents the life of a family in the Western Pampas, Argentina over the course of one year. The primary focus is Cochengo Miranda, a former folk singer who works as a rancher to support his family. Special attention is paid to the transculturation that is taking place and the differences in life for the older and younger generations. Film was shot in 1973 and 1974 and first released in 1974. In 1979, Prelorán produced an English language version and may have re-edited the Spanish version. In 2003, he updated the titles and credits in the English version. He may also have re-edited the English version at that time. The HSFA holds three version.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
2,110 Feet (sound, color positive film; 58 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.38
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1974-1979
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
2,110 Feet (sound, color positive film; 58 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.81
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Date:
1979
Scope and Contents:
Original English language version.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
1 Videocassettes (Betacam) (sound, color; Digital Betacam; 58 minutes)
Container:
Item 2007.10.86
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Videocassettes (betacam)
Date:
1979
2003
Scope and Contents:
Updated English language version.
Series Restrictions:
Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Jorge Prelorán films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for film preservation and finding aid provided by the Latino Center, Smithsonian Institution.
