Film director and theoretician Fernando Birri (Santa Fe, Argentina, 1925), who Colombian novelist and Nobel Prize recipient Gabriel García Márquez calls
Before entering the world of cinema, Birri worked in poetry, theater, and puppetry. In 1950 he traveled to Italy, the Birri family's native land, and studied filmmaking at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia di Roma where he was greatly influenced by the style of the Italian Neorealists and in particular the work of Vittorio de Sica and Cesare Zavattini, for whom he worked as assistant director in his film
In 1995, Birri produced a documentary film for German television entitled
Birri continues his cinematic career in the 21st century. In 2007, he filmed a documentary entitled
Fernando Birri has authored numerous books on film theory and poetry. He is also a prolific artist working in a wide range of media from pencils, watercolors, and collage to computer graphics. He is a founder of the Fundación del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano and a Member of Honor of its Executive Board. He was a Tinker Visiting Professor at Stanford University in 2001-2002, and a visiting professor at Tufts University in 2009. Birri has been and continues to be honored at numerous film festivals around the world. He is married to Carmen and has no children.
All labeled on back and signed
Aug 2012: Not accessed
Impresión: Fernando Birri
from archives of Luciano Valletta
Gift from Oscar to Birri
from archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Aug 2012: Not accessed
Aug 2012: Not accessed
In picture: Un operario, Geraldo, Thomas, un santafetino, y Julio
Some are so damaged as to be unrecognizable
Includes, photos, slides, negatives, photocopies, some promotional material
Computer print-out or photocopy
Includes notes in bright colors
Each labeled, one including a personal note
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Computer print out or high quality photocopy
Photos of an unnamed city, photos of Birri's artwork, photos of Birri with his artwork, photos of a girl with pink hair
43 JPEG images of Birri and attendees at the festival by Marcos Finotti on a CD-R disc.
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Includes cover sheet
Film not by Birri
Personal note to Fernando on the back
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Descriptions on envelope or beneath image
Incluye fotos y artículos de la exhibición de Marilyn Monroe
With postcard from Pimenta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Pictures of a ceremony apparently held in Birri's honor
From archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
Scanned documents and photos of expo, FB with Gabriel García Márquez
envelope reads "fotos por la mamá Di Suisto"?
Handwritten notes in Italian from Cipriano
Two of the four images are damaged - impossible to decipher
Includes one picture of an unknown man as well as Birri's festival ID
Birri with Gabriel García Márquez
Photos of a protest held by the mothers of los desaparecidos
Photos at the 62nd Mostra Intenazionale d'arte cinematografica (two copies)
Backs labeled with names of those present in each picture
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
With certificate of authenticity
Includes follow-up postcard from Anni and summer photo from Tarmo
from archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Includes photocopies of original envelope
With certificate of authenticity
from archives of Luciano Valletta
Some are so damaged as to be unrecognizable
All labeled on back and signed
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Gift from Oscar to Birri
Includes note with directions re. organization/presentation
from archives of Luciano Valletta
Carefully organized film strips and handwritten notes
Personal note on back, found in airmail envelope
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Each with a clever caption or note from Cacho on the back
Includes childhood pictures of Carmen and her family, many younger pictures of both she and Fernando, baptism/birth announcement for Carmen, communion portraits of Fernando, etc.
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Computer print-out or photocopy
Includes small format slides
Compiled for the book "Los Inundados"
Accompanied by letter from the "80 Cumpleaños de Nicolas Guillen Comision Organizadora Central"
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Still shots from various movies (not by Birri). Three copies.
Personal note to Fernando from Lara Valentina Pozzobon
Envelope labeled 2003 but timestamp on photos is May 1998
Only the workshop photo is attributed to Cischi - the photographer of the others is unstated.
From archives of Luciano Valletta
With inventory
from archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
from archives of Luciano Valletta
Includes teeny-tiny slides - how do we store these?
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Incluye un CD and un floppy
from archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Personal note to Fernando from Lara Valentina Pozzobon
Envelope labeled 2003 but timestamp on photos is May 1998
From archives of Luciano Valletta
With inventory
Photographic poster
photocopy from book or newspaper
From archives of Luciano Valletta
From archives of Luciano Valletta
Personal notes on back of each photo
CD A1. Bombobonda contains an image of a top-hatted man on stilts playing a drum.
from archives of Luciano Valletta
Made for Festival Cinema Latinoamericano Trieste, 1995
Includes description of the film
CDs A7-A11. Slideshow of Birri's artwork set to the music of Gianni Nocenzi.
Including one slide (Frida Kahlo's face with spider legs) that does not belong in the series.
From archives of Luciano Valletta
CD A3-A6. Cuaderno artwork accompanied by Kodak Color Control Patches
Aug 2012: Not accessed
Signed on back: Con afecto para Fernando, Iván A. Mantero Mortillaro
from archives of Luciano Valletta
Birri not present in photo
CD A12. Poster for a celebration of the 20th anniversary of EICTV
The tables of contents list more pictures than are actually present in the folder
With postcard from Pimenta
Computer print outs or photocopies
envelope reads "fotos por la mamá Di Suisto"?
Slideshow of 20 years of EICTV
One labeled "Con Myrka Birri," another "Con Roberto de Luca Birri"
The origins and relevance of two pictures, one labeled "Paola Gaitán Frente al Espejo" and another of a couple in front of a statue of Karl Marx remain unclear
Appears to be photographs of Luciano Valletta's studio in Rome
This is
Brown University is the copyright holder of materials created by Fernando Birri. Researchers are advised that express written permission to reproduce, quote, or otherwise publish any portion or extract from this collection for which Fernando Birri was the sole creator must be obtained from the Brown University Library. The Brown University Library does not have the facilities or resources to reformat and/or create copies of most of the films in the archive, nor does it hold the rights to most of the films to grant permissions for screening. Brown University Library owns the rights to these films: Tire Dié and Los Inundados. The Brown University Library does not own the rights to these films: ORG; films produced in Cuba with funding from the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC); films produced or co-produced with other artists, institutions or production companies such as La primera fundación de Buenos Aires. The copyright status of all other films directed by Fernando Birri has yet to be determined, and we are unable to grant permission at this time. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary or film rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them. Please submit questions via the Ask Us form.
Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts, Ms.2010.050, Brown University Library.
The arrangement of the Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts follows the classification
system created by Fernando Birri. It contains 4 Subgroups. This portion of his collection is
To access the inventory for another Subgroup, click on the name below.
There are no restrictions on access for non-digital materials, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Advance notice is required to view born-digital records. Born-digital materials in this collection may not have been reformatted yet. Researchers may request access to copies by contacting the John Hay Library with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed to hay@brown.edu.
Gift of Fernando Birri in 2010.
The arrangement of the Fernando Birri Archive of Multimedia Arts follows the classification
system created by Fernando Birri. It contains 4 Subgroups. This portion of his collection is
To access the inventory for another Subgroup, click on the name below.