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Camuflaje

Camouflage
Still from the film "Camuflaje (Camouflage)" by Jonathan Perel. Two men in medium-close up look down the barrel of an automatic rifle.
© Alina Films, Off The Grid
  • Director

    Jonathan Perel

  • Argentina / 2022
    93 min. / Original version with English subtitles

  • Original language

    Spanish

For two minutes, all we see are calves, bare feet and asphalt. Every time a foot hits the ground, it makes a slapping sound, accompanied by the runner’s rapid breathing. The rhythm is steady, and yet there is an urgency to the shot.
The runner is Félix Bruzzone, a writer who lives near the Campo de Mayo military base on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. His research and experiences serve as the basis for Jonathan Perel's film CAMUFLAJE. He explains what drives him in voiceover: his mother was disappeared by the military when he was an infant. It was only after purchasing a property close to Campo de Mayo that he learnt that she also died there.
What should be done with this wasteland on which the military killed its opponents 45 years ago? Bruzzone speaks with those who live in the area in a series of staged encounters. A real estate agent gushes over the rise in property values, a run-in with soldiers turns out better than expected, a survivor of the camp describes how much resistance she faced in trying to erect a memorial, to say nothing of a documentation centre. Bruzzone keeps on running, tirelessly. (Cristina Nord)

Jonathan Perelwas born in 1976 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He holds a degree in art and works as an artist, filmmaker and producer. His film Responsabilidad empresarial was screened at the 2020 Berlinale Forum.

Production Pablo Chernov, Jonathan Perel. Production companies Alina Films (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Off the Grid (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Written and directed by Jonathan Perel. Cinematography Joaquín Neira. Editing Pablo Mazzolo. Sound design Francisco Pedemonte. Production manager Santiago Borensztejn. Executive producer Pablo Chernov. With Félix Bruzzone, Margarita Molfino, Iris Avellaneda, Archie Campos, Gustavo Guoglielmi, Inés Bruzzone, Agustin Rozados Gimenez, José Luis Gómez.

World sales Compañía de Cine

Films: 2008: 5 (cinco) / 5 (five) (10 min.). 2010: El predio / The Lot (58 min.). 2011: Los murales / The Murals (12 min.). 2012: 17 monumentos / 17 Monuments (60 min.). 2013: Tabula rasa (42 min.). 2014: Las aguas del olvido / The Waters of Oblivion (9 min.). 2015: Toponimia / Toponymy (82 min.). 2016: 5-T-2 Ushuaia (4 min.). 2020: Responsabilidad empresarial / Corporate Accountability (68 min.). 2022: Camuflaje / Camouflage.

Bonus Material

Essay and Director's Statement

  • Still from the film "Camuflaje (Camouflage)" by Jonathan Perel. Two men with helmets on share a motorbike.

    Essay

    In “Scenes of obsessive disquiet” Niall Geraghty explains how Jonathan Perel takes a different route in confronting Argentina’s violent past with CAMUFLAJE.

  • Still from the film "Camuflaje (Camouflage)" by Jonathan Perel. Two men in a shoulder close-up in profile. The older one points out something.

    Director's Statement

    Jonathan Perel on the attraction of ghost-inhabited places.

Forum Program 2022

Funded by:

  • Logo Minister of State for Culture and the Media
  • Logo des Programms NeuStart Kultur