Best Ecuadorian documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from Ecuador.
Asier ETA biok (2014)
Asier ETA biok (2014)
Asier and I grew up in the Basque Country. But one day he disappeared, later I found out he had joined ETA.
Eyes Wide Open (2009)
Eyes Wide Open (2009)
In 1971, Uruguayan journalist and writer Eduardo Galeano published his landmark work Open Veins of Latin America, in which he comprehensively described the centuries of economic exploitation of Latin America. Almost 40 years later, filmmaker Gonzalo Arijon reevaluates the situation. His search takes him from the soybean plantations of the Brazilian Amazon to the tin mines of Bolivia to the deep jungles of Ecuador. Arijon’s politically committed film allows the local populations to speak for themselves, interspersing this with archival footage of speeches by Hugo Chávez, Lula da Silva and Evo Morales. Galeano himself also speaks—sometimes in poetic language— about how the rise of socialist governments in the early 21st century is benefitting Latin America, and what more can be done.
Vessel (2014)
Vessel (2014)
A fearless sea captain, Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, sails a ship through loopholes in international law, providing abortions on the high seas, and leaving in her wake a network of emboldened activists who trust women to handle abortion on their own terms.
The Beach of Enchaquirados (2021)
The Beach of Enchaquirados (2021)
Vicky is fisherman by day and bar owner at night. When she was a little boy her dream was to be a radio soap opera star, nowadays she dreams of falling in love again. How is it possible that a small, barren place in the third world has managed to achieve this special form of freedom and tolerance?
The Death of Jaime Roldós (2013)
Taromenani (2007)
Taromenani (2007)
In May 2003, around 30 women and children were murdered in the Ecuadorian jungle. The victims belonged to the Taromenani clan, an uncontacted indigenous group in Ecuador. The massacre was left in impunity and oblivion. This documentary explores the history of contact with the Huaorani decades ago, the death of Alejandro Labaka in 1987 and recent attacks on loggers in the area, to discover that these events are linked to the history of uncontacted peoples in Ecuador.
Behind the Mist (2023)
Behind the Mist (2023)
A well-known filmmaker follows a famous mountain climber to Nepal, documenting the journey. Conversations about their lives lead to philosophical reflections, as the mountain challenges their motives. As days go by, the higher altitude and the depletion of oxygen will raise their debate to interior and transcendental territories, putting at stake their trajectories and their egos when facing the mountain and its millenary depth.
When They Left (2019)
When They Left (2019)
When the colourful ice-cream van rides through the deserted streets of the village, there are no children trailing behind it. In Plazuela, a peaceful hamlet lost in a mountainous region of Ecuador, only a handful of old ladies remain, who are all widows. In the gloom of their houses, photos of those who are gone hang on walls: husbands who have passed away a few years earlier, children gone to work in the big cities or abroad, and grandchildren who have grown up far away from them.
Guañuna (2022)
Guañuna (2022)
Chronicle of the judicial process for the murder of 16-year-old student Paúl Guañuna, committed by police officers in 2007. The fight of a father and thousands of young people against racism, authoritarianism and impunity.
Niños (1929)
Niños (1929)
Children playing
Flowers (2024)
Flowers (2024)
Filmmaker José Cardoso’s deeply personal Flowers is an exercise in sense-making, led by both his conscious and unconscious mind. Navigating the barrage of online news images produced each day, he transforms these into an unexpected web of connections that link an Amazonian community threatened with the destruction of their land to an extreme right-wing Brazilian President who justifies the exploitation of the Amazon by the rising price of resources precipitated by the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh teaches us to make our enemy the object of our compassion, and the filmmaker’s three-year-old son marvels at the frogs and flowers growing in the garden.
De Guayaquil a Quito (1933)
De Guayaquil a Quito (1933)
Daily life in the city of Quito, Gauyaquil and Ibarra.
From Core to Sun (2018)
From Core to Sun (2018)
Ecuadorian athlete Millán Ludeña, embarks on his new adventure to be the first athlete to register a new Guinness World Record for his beloved country.
Beyond the mall (2010)
Beyond the mall (2010)
Is there an audience for Latin American movies? These are some of the questions posed by an Ecuadorian filmmaker whose latest movie was a commercial flop. He embarks on a query to find answers to his questions and relief for his despair. His research leads him to a giant contraband market in the port city of Guayaquil, where pirated movies from all over the world are sold for one dollar each. Here, he discovers a number of Ecuadorian low budget movies produced by amateurs, with titles he had never heard of before: from action packed productions to evangelical melodramas.
Moments of Campaign (2015)
Moments of Campaign (2015)
Beyond being a historical record, this film explores the implied duality of Rafael Correa's public figure. The behind-the-scenes 2013 presidential re-election race, in campaign-distant black and white invites us to reflect on Ecuador's way of doing politics.
The Invincible Shuar People of the Upper Amazon (1926)
The Invincible Shuar People of the Upper Amazon (1926)
Scenes of daily life in the Indian communities of Ecuador.
Dos mujeres en el parque (1929)
Dos mujeres en el parque (1929)
Ladies acting and blowing kisses.
Cesar's Grill (2013)
Cesar's Grill (2013)
In order to rescue his father's ramshackle grill restaurant, filmmaker and vegetarian Dario Aguirre is traveling back to his homeland Ecuador. What starts out as a strange debate about opening times, chips and Excel spread sheets, develops into a moving family drama.
Ecuador Noticiero Ocaña Film (1929)
Ecuador Noticiero Ocaña Film (1929)
Reception with Ambassadors to Ecuador when President Isidro Ayora took office. Aspects of Public Administration in education and health.
Aviadores y amigos en la Hacienda San Carlos (1929)
Aviadores y amigos en la Hacienda San Carlos (1929)
Airmen and friends at Hacienda San Carlos
Corrida Bufa: Charlot Chaplin y sus botones (1929)
Corrida Bufa: Charlot Chaplin y sus botones (1929)
Charlie Chaplin look-a-like doing bullfighting.
Paseo de las banderillas anunciando los toros (1929)
Paseo de las banderillas anunciando los toros (1929)
Paseo de las banderillas announcing the bulls
Corrida profesional Plaza Belmonte (1929)
Corrida profesional Plaza Belmonte (1929)
Professional bullfight Plaza Belmonte
Fiestas de Centenario 1822 - 1922 Cima de la Libertad (1922)
Fiestas de Centenario 1822 - 1922 Cima de la Libertad (1922)
Centenary Festivals 1822.
Catedral y Plaza Grande (1929)
Catedral y Plaza Grande (1929)
Cathedral and Plaza Grande
Rostros de paseantes en el Parque de la Alameda (1929)
Rostros de paseantes en el Parque de la Alameda (1929)
Faces of walkers in Alameda Park
Inauguración monumento a Simón Bolívar (1935)
Inauguración monumento a Simón Bolívar (1935)
Ingratiation of Simón Bolívar
With My Heart in Yambo (2011)
With My Heart in Yambo (2011)
Filmmaker María Fernanda Restrepo reconstructs events that led to her older brothers' murders at the hands of Ecuadorian police.
Trilladora (1929)
Trilladora (1929)
Driving a machine