Manuel Mateo is a Colombian anthropologist and filmmaker who coordinates the Documentary Master’s Programme at the School of Cinema and TV of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV). His film Ánima (2022) has traveled through international festivals. His creative work revolves around memory, pedagogy, and political ecology in cinema.
Manuel Mateo
Manuel Mateo participated in “Greatest” Short Films of All Time 2025, a first-ever poll of its kind as a collective love letter to the art of short-form moving image. yanco and Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg, in collaboration with Talking Shorts, invited filmmakers, curators, distributors, critics, and scholars worldwide to nominate 10 audiovisual works under sixty minutes that they personally consider the “greatest” of all time. This was Manuel Mateo’s submission:
| Movie | Original Title | Director | Country | Year | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meshes of the Afternoon | Alexander Hammid , Maya Deren | USA | 1946 | 14’ | ||
| The House Is Black Khaneh siah ast | Forugh Farrokzhad | Iran | 1963 | 22’ | ||
| Now! | Santiago Álvarez | Cuba | 1965 | 5’ | ||
| Magueyes | Ruben Gámez | Mexico | 1962 | 9’ | ||
| The Sea Horse L’hippocampe | Jean Painlevé | France | 1933 | 14’ | ||
| The Vampires of Poverty Agarrando Pueblo | Carlos Mayolo , Luis Ospina | Colombia | 1977 | 29’ | ||
| Asparagus | Suzan Pitt | USA | 1979 | 20’ | ||
| Reassemblage: From the Firelight to the Screen | Trịnh T. Minh-hà | Senegal, USA | 1983 | 40’ | ||
| Katatsumori かたつもり | Naomi Kawase | Japan | 1994 | 39’ | ||
| Life Жизнь | Artavazd Peleshian | Armenia | 1994 | 7’ | ||