The third cinema movement brought about radical style to the medium!
Third Cinema was a revelation for the medium, it entailed ideas that were so radical that it liberated the art form in a completely new way. The definition of the term third cinema is not very complex; it simply means that as an alternative to the money and profit oriented counterpart, third cinema does not deal in profit and loss when it comes to the art form. The concept of a third cinema first came from two Argentinian filmmakers, who wrote a manifesto regarding the same and the technical and thematic aspects of the movement was not limited to Argentina only, it quickly spread throughout Latin America and then it quickly spread to Asia and Africa as well. There were a lot of similarities in the economic and social conditions prevailing in these countries and the other countries this movement spread to.
The most common practices and techniques associated with these movements are low budget shooting, and handheld camera movements. By low budget, works in third cinema were most commonly shot with all of the available items that were commonly present like lighting scenes with car headlights, and most things associated with shooting guerilla. This list contains films that were seminal and important to the movement and the remnants of which were the reason for the development of the language of the medium, the impact of this movement cannot be understated as its influence is fairly prevalent even in the works of modern masters of this art form. The list will go through the works that have all the characteristics associated with this movement and will serve as a guide to anyone who is looking forward to exploring this storied movement.
The first work on this list is a nonfiction, made by the duo of Argentinian artists Fernando Solanes and Octavio Genito, the list opens with a documentary as this work is a necessary for understanding the third cinema movement and is essential to its spread, the place for this work in history was solidified by its Sunderland Trophy win.
Another brilliant entry point to the movement can be this masterpiece by Senegalese legend Ousmane Sembene, this is work that resonated with a lot of European audiences because its subject matter spoke very deeply about the problems prevalent in Senegal.
