Institute of Contemporary Arts

Lis Rhodes: Dissonance and Disturbance 25 January 2012 - 25 March 2012
La Ciénaga, Dir Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/France/Spain 2001
La Ciénaga, Dir Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/France/Spain 2001

La Ciénaga

Lucrecia Martel's La Ciénaga is a veritable Chekhov tragicomedy about provincial life.

The picture is set in the high plains of north-western Argentina and portrays the life of a self-pitying Argentine bourgeois family. It is the story of a matriarch (Graciela Borges) who tries to keep her home and family together while her children deal with the vagaries of drinking, adultery, and other unpleasantries.

Certificate: 12

Dir Lucrecia Martel

Cast: Mercedes Morán, Graciela Borges, Martín Adjemián

Running time: 103 mins  

Release date: October 2001 (UK)

Country: Argentina / France / Spain

Language: Spanish w/English Subtitles

Format available: 35mm

 "La Ciénaga creates a vision of social malaise that feels paradoxically familiar and new." Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Silver Condor; Best Actress, Graciela Borges; Best Cinematography, Hugo Colace; Best First Film, Lucrecia Martel, Argentine Film Critics Association Awards 2002.

Alfred Bauer Prize for best debut film, Berlin Film Festival 2001

Best Actress, Graciela Borges; Best Director, Lucrecia Martel; Best Sound, Hervé Guyader, Emmanuel Croset, Guido Berenblum, Adrián De Michele; Grand Coral - First Prize, Lucrecia Martel; Havana Film Festival 2001.

French Critics' Discovery Award, Lucrecia Martel; Grand Prix, Lucrecia Martel; Toulouse Latin, America Film Festival 2001.

First Work Award - Special Mention, Lucrecia Martel, Uruguay International Film Festival 2001.

UFCA Award Best Latin American Film, Uruguayan Film Critics Association 2001.