Armando Bó and Isabel Sarli beyond the Nation: co-productions with Paraguay

Abstract

In the above quote sex symbol and film star Isabel Sarli highlights the personal connection she has to Paraguay, a nation tightly linked to her work with director Armando Bó. The highly popular sexploitation couple made two official co-productions with Paraguay. Neither of these films received funds from their respective States. As an entrepreneur and independent producer, Bó managed to make co-productions by teaming up with private investors from different nations keen on supporting local film initiatives. Albeit not directly associated with the State, these investors were not entirely disconnected from the State’s political agenda. In this article, I am interested in exploring Bó and Sarli’s co-productions to question the static vision of national cinemas and invite new ways of thinking about interconnections between nations.