Cinema of Iquitos

The cinema of Iquitos, also known as Amazonian cinema, is an important film development and one of the historic pioneering event of cinema of Peru. Due to the rubber boom and the arrival of foreigners, film interest began in the early 20th century, along with the evolution of cinema of the United States in Hollywood. Cinema in Iquitos had no established date of origin. The first film, however, was made in 1900. The first films were shown in the Casa de Fierro with an Edison machine, which reproduced the images using a carbide lamp and the constant movement of the operator. Iquitos is mentioned as a metonym of cinema in the Peruvian Amazon.

The most important pioneer of cinema in Iquitos and the Loreto Region is Antonio Wong Rengifo, also a pioneer of film art in Peru, with his most important work being Bajo el sol de Loreto. Alongside this, other filmmakers such as Werner Herzog, Armando Robles Godoy, Nora Izcue, Federico García, and Dorian Fernandez Moris prolonged the cinematic presence in the city.

Until around the 1880, Iquitos did not have a film set. Interest in film production grew alongside the film industry booming elsewhere in the world. There is not enough accurate visual record the exact birth of cinema in Iquitos. In 1890, following the rhythm of the European organization of the city, scientific technology began arriving.

The first film made in 1900 was recorded. A movie was projected for the first time in the Iron House with an Edison machine, which reproduced the images using a carbide lamp and the constant movement of an operator. Before the fact, in 1898, Clement Alcala and Francisco de Paula Secada obtained land on the north side of the Plaza de Armas, and built a rustic-roof building, naming it Alhambra. They installed a tiny carousel brought from Manaus, Brazil. In 1902, with the rubber boom and its international impact, Edward Fuller purchased Alhambra. It hence became the first movie theater in town with Lumière brand projectors.

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