Marco Berger

Marco Berger
Marco Berger at the 65th Berlinale in February 2015
Born (1977-12-08) December 8, 1977 (age 48)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
EducationUniversidad del Cine
OccupationsFilm director, Screenwriter
Notable workPlan B, Absent, Hawaii, Butterfly
AwardsTeddy Award for Best Feature Film (2011)

Marco Berger (born 8 December 1977) is an Argentine film director and screenwriter. He is known for films such as Plan B and Absent.

Biography

Marco Berger studied at the Universidad del Cine in Buenos Aires and made his debut as a director in 2008 with the short films La última voluntad and El reloj, the latter selected for the Cannes Film Festival. His first feature film, Plan B (2009), was presented at numerous festivals.

With the film Absent (Ausente), he won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival. The jury described his work as "an original screenplay, with an innovative aesthetic and a sophisticated approach that creates dynamism. A unique combination of homoerotic desire, suspense, and dramatic tension."

Between 2013 and 2015 he produced two more films: Hawaii and Butterfly (Mariposa), winner of the Best Latin American Film category at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain.

In 2016 he shot his fifth feature film, Taekwondo, in collaboration with filmmaker Martín Farina.

Berger is openly homosexual, and all his films deal with LGBT themes and conflicts, and he is considered one of the leading exponents of the genre today. His artistic hallmark is the exploration of silence on screen, focusing on the gestures and gazes of the characters, rather than dialogue.

Throughout his career, he has also participated as a collaborator in other film productions, such as the two volumes of the Sexual Tension series.

Filmography

Films

Collaborations

  • Cinco (2010) – with Cinthia Varela, Cecilia del Valle, Andrew Sala and Francisco Forbes
  • Tensión sexual, Volumen 1: Volátil – with Marcelo Mónaco
  • Tensión sexual, Volumen 2: Violetas – with Marcelo Mónaco
  • Taekwondo (2016) – jointly directed with Martín Farina

Shorts

  • Una última voluntad (2007)
  • El reloj (2008)
  • El Primo (2012)
  • El intercambio (2023)

Other works

  • Fulboy (2014) as editor

Awards

In 2011, Berger won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin International Film Festival for his film Ausente.

Personal life and career

Marco Berger is gay. His film examines male desire and challenges rigid distinctions between gay and straight identities, presenting sexuality as more fluid. Berger began studying theatre arts at the age of fifteen and has credited his extensive exposure to films as an influence on his decision to pursue a career in the arts.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hopewell, John (October 11, 2013). "Marco Berger to Catch a Butterfly (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Interview with Marco Berger - Beyond the Male Body as an Object of Desire". CineVista Blog. Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  3. ↑ "Marco Berger - Papo de Cinema". www.papodecinema.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  4. ↑ Scheib, Ronnie (21 June 2010). "Plan B". Variety. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Cine gay: Teddy Award all'argentino Ausente di Marco Berger". Queerblog.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  6. ↑ Kamali Dehghan, Saeed (26 March 2025). "Director Marco Berger: 'My films make some masculine viewers question if they could be gay'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Taekwondo IMDb". Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  8. ↑ "Sexo, masculinidade e amor: uma conversa com o cineasta argentino Marco Berger - Papo de Cinema". www.papodecinema.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  9. ↑ "Marco Berger, expoente do cinema LGBT // FFW". FFW (in Portuguese). 2012-10-09.
  10. ↑ "Papo de Cinema: Una conversación con el cineasta argentino Marco Berger" (in Portuguese).
  11. ↑ Lagré, Lucas; Verón, Mario; Pietro, Javier De (2012-10-07). "Sexual Tension: Volatile" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  12. 1 2 "TLA Releasing US | Taekwondo". tlareleasing.com. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  13. ↑ Gualeguaychú: El país del carnaval - Película 2021 - Cine.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04 – via www.cine.com.
  14. ↑ Armstrong, Chad (2023-01-22). "Mardi Gras Film Festival 2023 Review: Horseplay (Los agitadores) ★★★★". The Queer Review. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  15. ↑ Cameron Scheetz, "Is it friendship or foreplay? Lines get blurred when two men pretend to be boyfriends". Queerty, May 10, 2024.
  16. ↑ Perro perro (2025) | MUBI. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  17. ↑ "Perro Perro *** (2025, Germán Flood, Juan Ramos) – Classic Movie Review 13,907". Derek Winnert. 2026-04-16. Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  18. ↑ Five. Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04 – via www.cinemargentino.com.
  19. ↑ "Sexual Tension: Volatile | Queer Films, Shorts, & Series Database". 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  20. ↑ Tensión sexual, Volumen 2: Violetas. Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04 – via www.betaseries.com.
  21. ↑ Una ultima voluntad (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04 – via cinenacional.com.
  22. ↑ El reloj (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04 – via cinenacional.com.
  23. ↑ El primo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04 – via www.palomitacas.com.
  24. ↑ "El intercambio (C) (2023)". FilmAffinity (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  25. ↑ El intercambio - Película 2023 - Cine.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04 – via www.cine.com.
  26. ↑ "Fulboy". International Sales. Archived from the original on 2026-06-04. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  27. ↑ Queerblog Italy: Cine gay: Teddy Award all'argentino Ausente di Marco Berger Archived 2017-10-14 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
  28. ↑ Eugene (2025-04-11). "Marco Berger: Blurring the Lines Between Gay and Straight in Film | Instinct Magazine". instinctmagazine.com. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  29. ↑ Buckly, Dennis (2023-09-23). "Argentine Auteur Marco Berger on Independent Filmmaking and Modern Queer Cinema – Exclusive Interview". Hurwitz.tv. Retrieved 2026-06-04.