Jorge Prelorán, a pioneer in the field of ethnographic documentary film and a professor emeritus at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, died March 28 in Los Angeles following a 10-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 75.
A cinematic icon in his native Argentina and a UCLA alumnus, Prelorán taught at UCLA from 1976 until his retirement in 1994. He was the recipient of the school’s first International Cinema Artist award in 2008.
Born in Buenos Aires, Prelorán began making films on rituals and celebrations in rural communities in Argentina after his graduation from UCLA in 1961. In his later films, he focused on individual craftsmen who were representative figures of their far-flung indigenous cultures.
His 1970 “Imaginero,” about a creator of religious images from the Andean high plateau, was named one of the 10 best Argentine films of all time by a panel of the nation’s film critics. Prelorán also directed the feature fiction film “My Aunt Nora” (1983), the Academy Award–nominated short film “Luther Metke at 94” (1979) and the seven-part television series “Patagonia — In Search of Its Remote Past” (1992).
Preloran is survived by his wife, Mabel Preloran; daughter Adriana Preloran; son-in-law Anibal Trevisan; and sisters Viviana Frigerio and Nancy Preloran.
