Francisco Lezama is one of the most prominent names in contemporary Argentine independent cinema. With a distinctive style that blends absurd humor and social reflection, his works delve into the tensions of a generation shaped by precarity and the nation’s obsession with the dollar. Through a personal lens and with a touch of irony, he has captured the struggles of a society shaped by neoliberalism and economic instability. His trilogy of short films explores how financial precarity impacts work, relationships, and desires, all set within a hostile and indifferent system.

Un Movimiento Extraño (An Odd Turn), a short film that won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale and has qualified for the Oscars, sharply portrays this duality between apathy and resistance among Argentine youth. In his acceptance speech in Berlin, Lezama condemned the cuts to cultural institutions under President Javier Milei’s libertarian government, emphasizing the impact of these policies on the film industry and cultural access for younger generations.

In this conversation with Jacobin, Lezama reflects on his work, the political and social context that inspires it, and his next cinematic challenge.