This chapter seeks to explore several transitions of the fifteen years that followed the democratic re-establishment. In addition to the transition into democracy, Uruguay also experienced a transition into the implementation of neoliberal policies. As far as film is concerned, there was a transition into the video era and a transition into a stage in which filmmakers began to receive a timid support from both the state and private television channels. This was a period in which the national identity was also in transition. It was to be seen whether or not Uruguay would be able to regain the status of the Switzerland of America and whether or not it would truly recover its deeply appreciated democracy. Decisions were to be taken, on different levels, about the kind of interaction Uruguay was to (re-)establish with the rest of Latin America, the United States, Europe and the visible signs of globalisation. It was also a time in which technology began to develop at an increasing speed, and both the people and the state were to explore how to benefit from it.

These transitions are explored, first, through El cordón de la vereda (The Kerb; Esteban Schroeder, 1987), a documentary video which emphasises its performative characteristics to make visible the difficulties in approaching the recent past; second, through El dirigible (The Airship; Pablo Dotta, 1994), a feature fiction film, shot on 35mm, which engages deeply with the changes undergone by Uruguayan society and the images constructed around them; and finally, through Una forma de bailar (A Way of Dancing; Álvaro Buela, 1997), a fiction recorded on video, which was originally conceived as a tele-film but became a well-known piece of Uruguayan cinema, thereby underscoring the relevance of new technologies in the development of national cinema. Indeed, this chapter analyses the practice of making cinema recorded on video and reflects upon how each context influences reception beyond the actual technology used to make the film. It also explores both the constraints and possibilties offered by the use of 35mm film stock.

Political, Economic and Social Transition

After the newly elected president Julio María Sanguinetti took office on 1 March 1985, there were a series of situations to be addressed, such as how to deal with the remaining political prisoners, the reception of returning exiles, the military and the violations of human rights.