USA | Argentina 2024
Opens September 11, 2025

Directed by: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
Writing credits: Documentary
Principal actors: Guada Gonza,Taty Gonza, Jony Ávalos, Solano Ávalos

Gaucho Gaucho, through its cinematography and exquisite use of sound, transports us to a small community far away from city life. The film shot in black and white opens with a gaucho (cowboy) lying on top of his horse which is in a resting position in the field. He listens to the horse’s breathing as the wind swirls past them, a dog barks in the distance. As the film progresses, the remote region Salta in Northwest Argentina bursts into action accompanied by dramatic opera music. We have the privilege of viewing a community that still lives life as they did one hundred years ago. The dedicated ranchers with their families who live in an incredibly beautiful rugged countryside still hold on to the traditional way of life and believe they are leading the best lives that one can have. Here they ride horses, drive cattle, fight off condors, and teach their children the traditional ways of life. However, they are inevitably being forced to accept the encroaching reality of the modern world.

The young seventeen-year-old girl Guada is determined to enter the rodeo life and wants a try at becoming a bronco rider despite all the warnings she has been given. All the other cowboys teach her the tricks of the trade since she already seems to have the courage. Two young brothers travel through the landscape investigating all there is to see. Father and son learn traditional ways to handle lassos, knives, and horses. The film pays tribute to the women in the kitchen and also to their efforts in making handwoven wool ponchos, Bombacha de campo pants, and wide Boina hats. This is truly a beautiful film which should not be missed. Gaucho Gaucho captures a way of life which is vanishing in these modern times, while showing us how a simple life can be gratifying and rewarding. It also gives us the opportunity to reflect on our own lives in this ever-growing complicated world.

Gaucho Gaucho first appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024 and won the US Documentary Special Jury Award in the category of Sound. As the film was first shown in Europe, it won the Letterboxd Piazza Grande Award at the Locarno Film Festival. In 2025, it received the ASC Award from the American Society of Cinematographers. 85 Minutes. (Shelly S.)