Sanjines made his first feature film,
Ukamau (Así es) (1966), under the auspices of
the Bolivian Film Institute, of which he was named director in 1965. A
landmark in the history of Bolivian cinema, Ukamau is a sympathetic
depiction of the social problems of the Andean peasantry shot
exclusively in Aymara, an indigenous language. Because of the
controversy surrounding the film, Sanjines was fired from his post, but
went on to become one of the most successful of Latin America's leftist
filmmakers.
Sanjines has attempted to forge a genuinely popular cinema capable of
presenting a revolutionary political agenda in a form accessible to
working-class and peasant audiences. His most famous feature, the
controversial
Blood of the Condor (1969), is an impassioned defense of Bolivia's Indian
cultures and an attack on US imperialism (symbolized by a covert
sterilization program). The nonfiction film
The Night of San Juan (1971) features a
documentary reconstruction, enacted by survivors, of the infamous
"Night of San Juan" massacre of Bolivian miners. In
Jatun auka (1974) (released
in Peru), Sanjines worked with members of an Andean peasant community
to dramatize the brutal exploitation of the peasantry. Even when he has
worked in exile, Sanjines has shown an exceptional ability to make
artistically innovative and politically powerful films in spite of low
budgets and the difficulties attendant on non-industrial film
production in Latin America.
Los Viejos Soldados(2022)
Juana Azurduy, Guerrillera de la Patria Grande(2016)
Insurgents(2012)
Los hijos del último jardín(2004)
To Hear the Birds Singing(1995)
Warisata(2025)
The Flags of Dawn(1984)
Revolución(1963)
The Secret Nation(1989)
Lloksy Kaymata ¡Fuera de aquí!(1977)
De película(1982)as Self - Interviewee
The Eleventh Hour(1982)as Self