Emilia Saleny

Biography

Among all the pioneers linked to the birth of cinema in Argentina was the young woman of Italian origins who was to become, as far as we know at the moment, not only the first Argentine woman filmmaker, but also the filmmaker of the first Argentine children’s movie and the first woman to found an academy for film actors in South America: Emilia Saleny. Few records are available for us to piece together her life. Her death certificate, found in the Registro Nacional de las Personas (National Register of Persons in Buenos Aires), states that she died on August 22, 1978 at her home, Calle Caseros 574, the widow of Alberto Olivero, and the daughter of Antonio Saleny and Victoria Pieri.