Fragments of an Interrupted Cinema

Carlos Saguier and the Genesis of Contemporary Paraguayan Cinema

Abstract

This paper explores the mechanisms behind image construction in Latin American cinema, going beyond its technical aspects to reflect on its constitutive elements, which are, as a rule, shaped in confrontation with the political layers of each historical context. Although it employs technical tools similar to those of hegemonic cinema, its images emerge from unique socio-historical realities. Thus, this study rejects a universalizing approach, emphasizing the fragmented diversity of Latin America and its aesthetic, cultural, and political specificities. As a case study, this article analyzes *El pueblo* (1969), a film directed and photographed by Carlos Saguier during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner (1954–1989) in Paraguay. Produced with independent resources, the film combines experimental techniques—such as colorization, negative inversion, freeze frames, monochrome, and high contrast—with a narrative that explores social immobility over time. The dynamic editing and the lingering soundtrack, composed by Luis Cañete, enhance the sensory dimension of the work, transcending the boundaries of documentary, fiction, or so-called experimental cinema. Removed from circulation after being accused of treason by the Stronist regime, the film was rediscovered half a century later, becoming a landmark of Paraguayan cinema.