Man Vs. Meteorite: Knife Documentary now on-line!

Guillermo at the forge. Photo by Francisco Cauterucci

The latest documentary short from San Telmo Productions has just been released in the US and can be seen on the web:

http://www.artisanalknives.com/index.html

This short documentary is being used by Atlantis Trading to promote the skills of their knife master, Guillermo Mendoza. The documentary follows him making a knife out of meteorite metal, completely by hand, the biggest challenge of his career. He also talks about why making knives by hand is a millennial art and how he learned his trade from his gaucho grandfather.

We are currently developing a feature length documentary on the knife masters of Argentina who combine skill and ingenuity to make some of the finest knives in the world.

Gaucho Documentary: Travel without leaving your house

Here´s a use for a documentary that I never thought of: what about watching a documentary instead of taking travelling? Sound crazy? Well, the ezine “Shoestring” actually recommended watching our documentary instead of going to the pampas. And with the economy not going so well, maybe not that crazy!
http://www.shoestringmag.com/travel/travel-pants-7-day-argentinean-staycation-planner

New Documentary films making knives by hand in Argentina

Gabriel Balanovsky directs the shot.

San Telmo Productions filmed the first part of what will be a feature length documentary about knife making in Argentina. The knife is an indispensable tool for the gaucho (Argentine cowboy), used both to work and to eat the huge cuts of meat the pampas are famous for. Long ago, most gauchos made their own knives by hand, and today a select group of artisans continue this art. Working in hidden workshops, they turn scrap metal into beautiful knives, all by hand. Collectors and chefs from all over the world prize these creations, and it is not uncommon for an Argentine to bring his own knife to an asado, or barbecue.

The first part of the documentary, which is executive produced by Gary Parker, will look at the making of a very special knife is litterally out of this world (details will be revealed in the film!)

Directed and produced by Gabriel Balanovsky, Photography by Jorge Crespo (winner of so many photography awards that I won´t list them here) and edited by Ginger Gentile.  Sound recording and post by Damián Montes Calabro. Filmed in HD.

Jorge Crespo films Guillermo making a knife

Guillermo files down a knife.

New Documentary: Gaucho Festival-Horses, knives, dancing and “Chinas”

This short documentary is an exciting look at the beauty of gaucho culture in Argentina. Exciting horsemanship competitions, traditional dancing, beautiful women (called “chinas”), decorated horses, and of course, where ever a gaucho goes, his knife goes with him!

This is a part of a larger documentary we are working on about knife making in Argentina and we are also looking for an opportunity to continue producing documentaries about gauchos.

“Beef is Bueno” documentary mentioned in Delta In Flight Magazine

http://www.delta-sky.com/sections/index.php/travel/buenos_aires/
If you loved our mini-doc that aired on Current TV about the Argentine Beef Industry, get the full story in this informative article (and a short list of must-eat steak houses in BsAs). Ginger Gentile, co-director, was quoted about the conditions cows enjoy in the pampas.

Filming Tradition Day in San Antonio de Areco

Gabriel Balanovsky is interviewing, Ginger Gentile is filming, Zulma Berardino is doing sound and Gary Parker, the Producer, is looking on. Photo by Daniela Java

On November 8th and 9th, San Telmo Productions went to San Antonio de Areco, about an hour outside of Buenos Aires but a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We went to capture the unique gaucho traditions on display at the annual tradition day festival, which features rodeo competitions and a parade. But for the locals, it is a chance to show off their horses and horse riding skills (as well as cool clothes).

It was amazing to see hundreds of newly broken-in horses enter the ring, each small group led by a gaucho.  After all the guachos parade them past the juding stand (where they are judged on health and apperance), the gauchos stampede them through the ring, and then heard them togehter again. Hundreds of horses running around, is quite a site to capture on video!

And it got us thinking. . . why not take advantage of all this beautiful scenery, horses and gauchos as the backdrop to a fiction film? A similar technique was used in Mira Nair´s “Salaam Bombay!” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096028/

when she filmed a pivital scene in the middle of a festival–the thousands of people you see are not extras, they are really participating in a street festival.

But enough dreaming. . . we also interviewed quite a few gauchos about the knives that they all wear tucked into the back of their belts. While they were once used for self-defense, now the guachos call the cops when they have a problem! San Antonio de Areco is a center for traditional knife making, and the crew spent the night at a beautiful quinta (small country house with a pool) owned by the Draghi family, the leading silversmiths in the town.

http://sanantoniodeareco.com/publicidades/turismo/paradoresdraghi/

One sad note, while we filmed a lot of women on horseback, no woman participated in the contests. Hope that will change soon!

See the shoot´s photographer´s blog at http://danielajava.blogspot.com/