Argentina releases banned film - after 21 years

BUENOS AIRES - “Kindergarten”, an Argentine film banned in 1989 for its gory depiction of sex and violence, has finally seen the light of the day 21 years after its production.

“Kindergarten” by Jorge Polaco is considered one of the most controversial movies in the history of Argentine cinema. It tells an intrigue of love, sex and murder in a family in Buenos Aires. The movie premiered this week at the 25th edition of the Mar del Plata International in Argentina, Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Argentine authorities had questioned the depiction of nude children and sexual scenes in the movie said to be corrupting the minds of minors at that time. Two days before the first screening in 1989, a judge ordered the seizure of the film rolls. The director and the actors appeared in court in a case which denounced the film for immorality.

Although the Supreme Court of Argentina ruled in favour of the film in 1996, the premiere was postponed for another hearing to analyse the case.

When lifting the ban, all copies of the film mysteriously disappeared, until the Cinematheque of Granada, Spain, announced the discovery of one in its vaults.

Actors Arturo Puig, Graciela Borges and Luisa Vehil were the stars of the film. The film won that year the Special Jury Prize at the Festival of Amiens in France.