Hugo Santiago Muchnick (12 December 1939 – 27 February 2018) was an Argentine film director. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and lived in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1959 until his death in 2018. Santiago studied Literature, Philosophy and Music. From 1959-66 he was assistant director to

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, and s ...

. In 1969, he made his first feature film ''

Invasión ''Invasión'' is an Argentine film released in 1969 and directed by Hugo Santiago, who had also written the script together with Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares. Its style is intermediate between classic cinema and the French ''nouvell ...

'' in his native Argentina based on an idea by celebrated writers

Adolfo Bioy Casares Adolfo Bioy Casares (; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fan ...

and

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

, who also co-wrote the script. Adolfo Bioy Casares described the film in May 1969 as follows:

"''Invasión'' modernises the theme of
The Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
: it does not praise the shrewdness and effectiveness of the conqueror, but rather the courage of a handful of warriors ready to defend their Troy-which is far too much like Buenos Aires-where there is always a group of friends and a tango inviting you to fight for just and noble causes. Homer will forgive me: the heart is always on the side of those who resist. I believe Hugo Santiago has created an extraordinary film".

This was followed by another collaboration with the famed writers ''Les Autres'' in 1974. In 1979 he made ''Écoute voir...'' with

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

cast as a female detective investigating a gang looking to control people using radio waves. He returned to Argentina with ''Les Trottoirs de Saturne'' a reflection on his own exile in 1986. Prior to his feature film ''Le Loup de la côte Ouest'' (2002), a stylish detective thriller, he directed theatrical adaptations for the screen of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

(''Électre''),

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

(''La Vie de Galilée'') and the Opera by

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde ...

(''La Geste gibelline''). Prior to directing in 1961 he was a choreographer and metteur en scene for ''

Histoire du Soldat ' (''The Soldier's Tale'') is a theatrical work "to be read, played, and danced" () by three actors and one or several dancers, accompanied by a septet of instruments. Conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, C. F. R ...

'' at the Stravinsky Festival. He has supported the work of other filmmakers over the years, including producing ''Sérail / Surreal Estate'' by

Eduardo de Gregorio Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese football ...

(1976) and narrating Raúl Ruiz's ''

Les Trois couronnes du matelot ''Three Crowns of the Sailor'' (french: Les trois couronnes du matelot) is a 1983 French fabulist film with surrealist and oneiric flourishes written and directed by Chilean director Raúl Ruiz. Plot The film opens in black and white with t ...

'' (1983). He also appeared in Ruiz's short film ''

Colloque de chiens ''Dog's Dialogue'' (french: Colloque de chiens) is a 1977 French short crime film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz. The film contains popular conventions of the photo-romance but also can be viewed as a parody of the Brazilian telenovela ...

'' in 1977.

Death

Santiago died on 27 February 2018 at the age of 78 in Paris.

Filmography

* ''

/ Invasion'' (Argentina, 1969) * ''

Les Autres Les Autres sport classification is system used in disability sport for people with locomotor disabilities not included in other classification systems for people with physical disabilities. The purpose of this system is to facilitate fair competiti ...

/ The Others'' (France, 1974) * '' Écoute voir / See Here My Love'' (France, 1979) * ''Les Trottoirs de Saturne / The Sidewalks of Saturn'' (France/Argentina, 1986) * ''Électre'' (France, 1987) TV * ''La Geste gibelline'' (France/Argentina, 1988) * ''La Vie de Galilée'' (France, 1992) TV * ''Le Loup de la côte Ouest / The Wolf of the West Coast'' (France / Portugal / Argentina, 2002) * '' El Cielo Del Centauro'' (2015) Short Films: * Los Contrabandistas (Buenos Aires, 1967) * Los Taitas (Buenos Aires, 1968)

References

External links

"El hombre que veía demasiado"
25 May 2003, pagina12.com.ar; accessed 27 February 2018. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, Hugo 1939 births 2018 deaths Argentine film directors Argentine expatriates in France People from Buenos Aires