25 Best Bolivian Movies: Landmark Bolivian Cinema, Ranked

Bolivian movies can feel carved by altitude and history, even when the drama stays close to a single room. This cinema is known for political conviction, grounded performances, and an eye for how class and community collide. It returns to labor, identity, migration, and indigenous survival without turning people into symbols. Stylistically you will see patient pacing, sharp observation, and landscapes that carry meaning. From collective works in the 1960s and 1970s to later city portraits and modern genre turns, the arc is clear. Southern District (Zona Sur), Mi socio, and Blood of the Condor show that range in three distinct modes. The air shapes every decision. This ranked list is built to help you choose quickly and watch deeply.

The guide moves across eras and tones so you can match a film to your mood and your household. Every entry includes year, director, genre, tone, suitability, and IMDb rating, followed by an eight-sentence viewing guide. If you are new, begin with the warmer road and city films, then step into the tougher political landmarks. Cinephiles can trace Andean cinema through ritual, collective voice, and formal experimentation. Casual viewers can start with story-first dramas and a sharp modern thriller or two. You will also see how social realism does quiet work without announcing itself. Start gentle, then go deeper. By the end you should know exactly what to press play on next.

How we picked Bolivian movies

We aimed for range across classic political cinema, urban portraits, family-forward storytelling, documentary witness, and contemporary thrill-driven drama. Comfort level mattered, so heavier titles are framed clearly while lighter picks offer entry points for mixed households and newcomers to indigenous storytelling. Only films with an IMDb rating of 6.5/10 or above were considered, and the ranking runs from the lowest qualifying score at #25 to the highest at #1, with ties grouped by rating. All IMDb ratings in this article were verified on 20 February 2026.

25. Southern District (Zona Sur) (2009)

• Actors: Cristian Mercado, Ninón Dávalos, Noelia Campo
• Director: Juan Carlos Valdivia
• Genre: drama
• Tone: observant, quietly tense
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.5/10

Set in La Paz, Southern District (Zona Sur) follows characters facing a family’s comfort slipping as social change closes in. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of class, dependence, and identity. The tone feels observant, quietly tense. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for viewers who like patient social drama, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

24. The Visitor (El visitante) (2022)

• Actors: Enrique Aráoz, Erwin Berzain, Regina De Lucca
• Director: Martín Boulocq
• Genre: drama
• Tone: intimate, heavy-hearted
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 6.5/10

Set in La Paz, The Visitor (El visitante) follows characters facing a return that reopens old wounds. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of regret, responsibility, and belonging. The tone feels intimate, heavy-hearted. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults in a reflective mood, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

23. Chuquiago (1977)

• Actors: Luis Bredow, Patricia Lara, Reynaldo Yujra
• Director: Antonio Eguino
• Genre: drama
• Tone: bittersweet, panoramic
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

Set in La Paz, Chuquiago follows characters facing daily lives crossing invisible class borders. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of urban inequality, aspiration, and dignity. The tone feels bittersweet, panoramic. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for ensemble-story fans and city-portrait lovers, and it pairs well as a double-bill with Mi socio (1983).

22. El cementerio de los elefantes (2017)

• Actors: Cristian Mercado, Milton Cortez, Scarlett Linares
• Director: Tonchy Antezana
• Genre: drama
• Tone: raw, compassionate
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

Set in a hard-edged city perimeter, El cementerio de los elefantes follows characters facing survival on the edge of addiction and stigma. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of shame, survival, and fragile hope. The tone feels raw, compassionate. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults ready for a tough drama.

21. ¿Quién mató a la llamita blanca? (2006)

• Actors: Jorge Ortiz, Cristian Mercado, Reynaldo Pacheco
• Director: Rodrigo Bellott
• Genre: comedy, crime
• Tone: anarchic, satirical
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

Set in roads and borderlands, ¿Quién mató a la llamita blanca? follows characters facing a caper that keeps escalating. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of corruption, hustle, and absurd power. The tone feels anarchic, satirical. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for viewers who want satire with momentum.

20. The Condor Daughter (2025)

• Actors: Néstor Cárdenas, Leonor Añasco, Ñusta Flores
• Director: Clara Trigo
• Genre: drama
• Tone: reflective, searching
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

Set in a family landscape of memory, The Condor Daughter follows characters facing answers that arrive in fragments. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of inheritance, identity, and truth. The tone feels reflective, searching. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for character-driven drama fans, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

19. Wiñay (2018)

• Actors: Geraldine Chaplin, Nelson Martínez, Fabio Zambrana
• Director: Álvaro Olmos Torrico
• Genre: drama
• Tone: tender, melancholic
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

Set in quiet homes and long distances, Wiñay follows characters facing relationships tested by time and absence. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of care, aging, and reconciliation. The tone feels tender, melancholic. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for viewers who want gentle emotion.

18. Violeta al fin (2018)

• Actors: Cecilia Trigo, Gloria Ardaya, Cristian Mercado
• Director: Juan Carlos Valdivia
• Genre: drama
• Tone: wry, life-affirming
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

Set in everyday La Paz, Violeta al fin follows characters facing reinventing life after being underestimated. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of desire, self-respect, and freedom. The tone feels wry, life-affirming. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for viewers who like witty, hopeful drama.

17. Un Milagro de Navidad en La Paz (2023)

• Actors: Reynaldo Pacheco, Fernanda Arze, Cristian Mercado
• Director: Rodrigo “Guagua” Calbimonte
• Genre: comedy, family
• Tone: upbeat, sentimental
• Suitable for: older kids with parents, teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

Set in holiday-season La Paz, Un Milagro de Navidad en La Paz follows characters facing second chances before the year ends. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of family ties, forgiveness, and community. The tone feels upbeat, sentimental. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for mixed households and light viewing.

Did you know that the most famous Bolivian movies movie is:

Southern District (Zona Sur) (2009) is often treated as the modern calling card because it traveled widely and remains one of the most cited contemporary titles. As a verified proxy for audience reach, its IMDb listing shows roughly 680 user ratings, a high figure compared with most Bolivian features in this guide. Those vote totals come directly from the film’s IMDb rating panel on its title page. The film was directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia and led by Cristian Mercado, with Ninón Dávalos and Noelia Campo among the key faces. Its premise keeps the camera inside a privileged home while La Paz street life and shifting class realities press in from the edges. It is famous for fluid camera movement that turns rooms into social diagrams. Internationally it circulated through festivals and criticism as a reference point for Bolivia’s contemporary cinema. Viewers often remember how social realism emerges through gesture, space, and silence rather than slogans. If you cannot confirm a streamer in your region, check major rental platforms or festival-backed catalogues. Quiet rooms, loud consequences.

16. The Day Silence Died (El día que murió el silencio) (1998)

• Actors: Darío Grandinetti, Marisol Palacios, Oscar Martínez
• Director: Paolo Agazzi
• Genre: comedy, drama
• Tone: playful, humane
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

Set in a rural town, The Day Silence Died (El día que murió el silencio) follows characters facing news and images that disrupt the status quo. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of gossip, desire, and social rules. The tone feels playful, humane. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for viewers who like humane comedy-drama, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

15. Cuestión de fe (1995)

• Actors: Cristian Mercado, Antonio Antezana, Rossy de Palma
• Director: Marcos Loayza
• Genre: comedy, drama
• Tone: sly, energetic
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

Set in roads and offices, Cuestión de fe follows characters facing a job that turns into a chaotic pilgrimage. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of friendship, belief, and bureaucracy. The tone feels sly, energetic. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for viewers who like smart road comedy.

14. Ukamau (Así es) (1966)

• Actors: Elsa Antequera, Néstor Cárdenas, Benedicta Huanca
• Director: Jorge Sanjinés
• Genre: drama
• Tone: stark, urgent
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

Set in an indigenous community, Ukamau (Así es) follows characters facing injustice that demands a reckoning. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of power, dignity, and exploitation. The tone feels stark, urgent. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults who can handle hard themes.

13. Blood of the Condor (Yawar Mallku) (1969)

• Actors: Marcelino Yanahuaya, Benedicta Huanca, Néstor Cárdenas
• Director: Jorge Sanjinés
• Genre: drama
• Tone: fierce, outraged
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

Set in a highland village, Blood of the Condor (Yawar Mallku) follows characters facing violence tied to outside authority. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of sovereignty, trauma, and resistance. The tone feels fierce, outraged. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults seeking landmark political cinema, and it pairs well as a double-bill with The Night of San Juan (1971).

12. The Dog Thief (El ladrón de perros) (2024)

• Actors: Alfredo Castro, Franklin Aro Huasco, Teresa Ruiz
• Director: Vinko Tomičić
• Genre: drama
• Tone: taut, compassionate
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

Set in contemporary city streets, The Dog Thief (El ladrón de perros) follows characters facing a scheme that becomes morally personal. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of shame, survival, and longing. The tone feels taut, compassionate. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for adults who like tense modern drama, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

11. The Night of San Juan (El coraje del pueblo) (1971)

• Actors: Walter Achugar, Antonio Eguino, Reynaldo Yujra
• Director: Jorge Sanjinés
• Genre: drama
• Tone: harrowing, defiant
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

Set in mining communities, The Night of San Juan (El coraje del pueblo) follows characters facing state violence and its aftermath. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of labor, grief, and testimony. The tone feels harrowing, defiant. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults ready for confronting history.

10. Tu me manques (2019)

• Actors: Oscar Martínez, Rossy de Palma, Fernando Barbosa
• Director: Rodrigo Bellott
• Genre: drama
• Tone: emotional, searching
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

Set in families across borders, Tu me manques follows characters facing grief that forces understanding. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of love, silence, and reconciliation. The tone feels emotional, searching. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults who want an emotional drama, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

9. Mi socio (1983)

• Actors: David Santalla, Luis Bredow, Guillermo Barrios
• Director: Paolo Agazzi
• Genre: comedy, drama
• Tone: warm, gently critical
• Suitable for: older kids with parents, teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

Set in a cross-country road, Mi socio follows characters facing friendship growing across class lines. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of work, dignity, and companionship. The tone feels warm, gently critical. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for newcomers and family viewing.

The Bolivian movies is mostly famous for:

Bolivia’s cinema is most famous for treating place as a moral force, where altitude, weather, and distance shape decisions. Another hallmark is indigenous storytelling that favors community perspective over celebrity-centered hero arcs. Foundational political works in the 1960s and 1970s set a template for cinema as testimony and collective voice. Later decades widened the palette into urban drama, family stories, and sharper genre tools. International visibility often comes through festivals, critics, and curated streaming rather than blockbuster distribution. Language and culture specificity, including Aymara language, gives many films a rhythm that feels unmistakably local. Even when stories are intimate, social realism keeps pulling attention back to power and material conditions. Digital production has lowered barriers, helping a new generation experiment with form and tone. Newcomers should sample one city portrait, one road story, and one political landmark to feel the spectrum fast. With that context, the final stretch of titles lands harder.

8. The Secret Nation (La nación clandestina) (1989)

• Actors: Reynaldo Yujra, Jorge Sanjinés, Martha Monroy
• Director: Jorge Sanjinés
• Genre: drama
• Tone: grave, lyrical
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

Set in an Aymara community, The Secret Nation (La nación clandestina) follows characters facing a return shaped by ritual duty. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of identity, exile, and belonging. The tone feels grave, lyrical. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for adults who like poetic, challenging cinema.

7. Lloksy Kaymata ¡Fuera de aquí! (1977)

• Actors: Domingo Zamora, Mario Valladares, Néstor Cárdenas
• Director: Jorge Sanjinés
• Genre: drama
• Tone: angry, urgent
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

Set in rural territory, Lloksy Kaymata ¡Fuera de aquí! follows characters facing a community confronting exploitation. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of sovereignty, betrayal, and solidarity. The tone feels angry, urgent. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for political-drama viewers.

6. Jatun auka (1974)

• Actors: Domingo Zamora, Mario Valladares, Reynaldo Yujra
• Director: Jorge Sanjinés
• Genre: drama
• Tone: confrontational, righteous
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.6/10

Set in farms and meetings, Jatun auka follows characters facing organized resistance under pressure. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of leadership, solidarity, and sacrifice. The tone feels confrontational, righteous. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults who want militant cinema.

5. Los hermanos Cartagena (1984)

• Actors: Eddy Bravo, Alberto Cornejo, Oscar Cortés
• Director: Paolo Agazzi
• Genre: drama
• Tone: sweeping, tragic
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.6/10

Set in a family’s long timeline, Los hermanos Cartagena follows characters facing brothers pulled into violence and consequence. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of loyalty, pride, and collapse. The tone feels sweeping, tragic. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for viewers who like sweeping drama.

4. Mano Propia (2024)

• Actors: Gonzalo Callejas, Christian Castillo, Freddy Chipana
• Director: Rodrigo Patino
• Genre: thriller, drama
• Tone: tense, morally knotted
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.6/10

Set in institutions and home life, Mano Propia follows characters facing justice blurring into revenge. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of power, ethics, and family. The tone feels tense, morally knotted. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for thriller fans who want moral tension, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

3. Seditiosa (2024)

• Actors: Simonne De La Riva, Daniela Borda, Mila Joya
• Director: Jac Avila
• Genre: drama
• Tone: provocative, confrontational
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.7/10

Set in a pressure-cooker social space, Seditiosa follows characters facing rebellion that refuses to be polite. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of control, resistance, and identity. The tone feels provocative, confrontational. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. It earns its place here for craft and staying power. Best for adults who like intense provocation.

2. The Flags of Dawn (Las banderas del amanecer) (1984)

• Actors: Víctor Zapana, Domitila Barrios de Chungara, Filemón Escóbar
• Director: Beatriz Palacios, Jorge Sanjinés
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: urgent, collective
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

Set in streets, mines, and assemblies, The Flags of Dawn (Las banderas del amanecer) follows characters facing history told through collective voice. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of labor, democracy, and memory. The tone feels urgent, collective. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for adults interested in documentary history.

1. Erase una vez en Bolivia (2011)

• Actors: Luis Caballero, Miguel Angel Mamani, Ivan Nogales
• Director: P.L. Cordova
• Genre: drama
• Tone: gritty, compassionate
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

Set in a journey across social fault lines, Erase una vez en Bolivia follows characters facing family loyalty tested by survival. The premise stays focused on human choices rather than spectacle. It circles themes of inheritance, class, and consequence. The tone feels gritty, compassionate. Small moments do the work. The pacing is steady, letting scenes breathe and details land. Among Bolivian movies, it stands out for clarity of craft and emotional precision. Best for viewers who like gritty road drama, and availability often rotates across rental and festival platforms.

Conclusion: revisiting Bolivian movies

If you are building your way into this film culture, treat the list like mood routes: start with warmth, shift to city observation, then save the political landmarks for nights when you want intensity. The range is wider than first impressions suggest, from holiday sentiment to courtroom pressure and documentary urgency. As you move upward, notice how performance style and indigenous storytelling keep pulling stories toward lived experience, even when plots get dramatic.

Over time, the biggest reward is how these stories hold community perspectives while still letting individual lives matter, which is why Andean cinema keeps feeling fresh on rewatch. For deeper historical and preservation context, explore the Academy Film Archive as a starting point for how films are collected and maintained. Then keep up with contemporary coverage and criticism through a high-authority culture desk like The New York Times Movies, and return to this guide when you want a new angle on the country’s screen voice.

FAQ about Bolivian cinema