Paper short abstract:

The film Estrellas, through a mixture of documentary and fiction proposes a discussion of the role of non-professional actors and the representation of the shantytowns that the New Argentinian Cinema and TV have made during the last two decades.

Paper long abstract:

The documentary Estrellas (Federico León and Marcos Martínez, 2007) bring forward a series of questions regarding several of the characteristics of the New Argentinian Cinema and the films of directors such as Adrián Caetano (Pizza, birra y faso, 1997) and Pablo Trapero (Mundo grúa, 1999). Through the figure of Julio Arrieta, a non-professional actor from a shantytown, the film examines the representation that Argentinian filmmakers have made of marginalized people. The use of what Arrieta calls "face-bearer" actors, that is to say, non-professional actors who get roles according to their looks and cannot play against type, and their future once they are the focus of the spotlight, is one of the topics of the film. In order to argue this conception, Arrieta proceeds to shoot a sci-fi film about an alien invasion to his shantytown to prove that they can participate in stories of a different genre and Estrellas presents us the backstage of the film. Also, the film proposes a different aesthetic, dispensing altogether of what could be called a vérité style, choosing instead a series of static shots well planned in advance that chose not to wallow in the poverty of the slums at the same time that blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction. Ultimately, Estrellas raises a series of problematic questions regarding the representation of the "other", the choice of certain aesthetics decisions and the possibilities of cooperation between the filmmaker and the subject.