This course will examine the cinemas of three neighboring South American countries to find similar themes and some differences between them historically, politically, and culturally. Themes will include: gender and nation, political repression during dictatorship, globalization and the cinema, youth culture in the Southern Cone, and representations of race and ethnicity, immigration and identity in contemporary cinema. Other themes in common are financing issues, such as co-production agreements, film production under the regional trade pact Mercosur and issues of circulation, distribution and marketing of national films. Most films will be feature length narrative, but a few documentaries will be shown. May be taken as FMS 716, but with additional requirements.