What if you could screen all the tango films available from around the world—whether feature films or documentaries, historical or contemporary—for an interested audience in the cinema? Seven years ago, tango teacher, book author, and event organizer Ralf Sartori asked himself this question. Shortly thereafter, he launched a tango film series that is unique worldwide and shows no signs of ending anytime soon.
“Tango on Film” – the open-ended film series
In November 2013, the international film series started under the title “Tango on Film”. The opening film was “Midsummer Night Tango”, a humorous documentary about tango in Finland. It was shown in wide-screen format at Schloss Seefeld on the Ammersee. The special feature: after the film, there was a short introduction to the tango dance and then a milonga. Audiences enthusiastically embraced this combination of film screening and dancing, so the monthly “long tango nights” quickly became established.
At the beginning, Ralf Sartori still had doubts about whether he would even find “more than 25” tango films for his screenings. But the more intensively he searched for suitable films, the more he discovered. This allowed him to keep the film series going for seven years—almost without repeats. Every last Friday of the month, and at times even every two months, the event “Tango on Film” takes place to this day. In 2016, a second location was added: the Breitwand cinema in Gauting. Since then, the films have been shown alternately there and at the cinema at Schloss Seefeld. If they aren’t in German, they have either English or German subtitles. By August 2020 there were already 57 documentary and feature films—and it continues—indefinitely!
From the 1930s to today: tango films from all over the world
The tango films shown so far in the series “Tango on Film” range from exciting artist portraits to tango music documentaries, up to sophisticated feature films. Either tango is immediately the subject, or it plays a major role in shaping the character of the films. The first feature films from the 1930s with Carlos Gardel are of historical value, while some of the modern works can boast perfect film technique. Others are simply down-to-earth, unvarnished documentaries at the pulse of reality.
What’s especially interesting is the “exotic” origins some of these films have. Countries you’d never immediately associate with Argentine dance have, in some cases, developed their own “tango scene”—with milongas, lessons, and even orchestras. Examples include South Korea, Latvia, Singapore, India, Israel, Panama, Turkey, or Hawaii. This is certainly also due to the worldwide spread of tango videos on YouTube, as well as the many Argentine show-dance partner groups and teachers who have been traveling the world over the past three decades. But there are also countries that have maintained a long tango tradition since the Golden Age of the last century—for example Finland or Japan.
Film rarities on the big screen
Many tango fans already know films like “Tango Lesson” by Sally Potter, “Sur” by Fernando Solanas, or “One Last Tango” by German Kral. These have reached a wider audience, especially since they have also already been shown in other German cinemas and there captivated the public. However, surprisingly, there are many more interesting tango films that are little known. Otherwise, they would have little chance on the German cinema market because they are specifically aimed at the target group of tango aficionados. But thanks to the series “Tango on Film”, audiences can now enjoy these film rarities on the big screen. That way, many of the older films are also kept from being forgotten!
Detailed descriptions, images, and background information on all the films shown can be found on Ralf Sartori’s website in his Tango film archive, which is certainly unique in this form. Two examples of the film series that we would like to present here are “One Last Tango (Un Tango Más)” by German Kral and “Si Sos Brujo” by Caroline Neal.
“One Last Tango” by German Kral
This tango film is about the most famous dance couple of the previous century: Maria Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes. After spending their long, turbulent lives loving and hating, separating and reuniting, they enter the stage together one last time in a moving scene from the film. The film is a wonderful mix of documentary material and feature-film scenes. It shows flashbacks to the couple’s early youth in Buenos Aires and to the times of great success, but also to the disputes in their adult lives. These “time journeys” are replayed by two younger tango couples. One important message of the film is that tango, as we know it today, would probably no longer exist without the work of Juan Carlos Copes. The images are densely atmospheric, the camera work is excellent, and that’s why the film received the Bavarian Film Award for Best Cinematography in 2016.
“Si Sos Brujo” by Caroline Neal
The title of this documentary film from Argentina is roughly “If you’re a witch”. The American filmmaker Caroline Neal accompanies a young tango musician on his search: he wants to find the living performers and composers of the Golden Age of tango in order to learn from them. His goal is to capture the traditional oral tradition of their style of playing before it disappears forever. With some effort, he manages to persuade the legendary composer and violinist Emilio Balcarce to found a music school in Buenos Aires where young musicians can learn the secrets of the old maestros. It’s fascinating what tricks these can use to turn percussion instruments into real thunderous bursts—or to draw true thunder from the bandoneón. A tango film for music lovers!
Tango films as entries for the Five Lakes Film Festival
In addition, each year an selected tango film from the series is shown as the official entry at the international Five Lakes Film Festival. This came about through collaboration between Ralf Sartori and the festival management. The 2020 entry is the moving documentary film “Joyride with Sexteto Milonguero” by Hungarian director Eszter Nordin. It’s a road movie about one of the most popular modern tango orchestras, which has recently announced its breakup. In that sense, it’s a kind of “farewell performance”. (The film will be shown on 27 August at 8:00 pm at the Breitwand cinema at Schloss Seefeld.)
Here’s a look back at the history of the tango orchestra Sexteto Milonguero, along with more information about the film.
Award-winning film programming – the cinemas
The Breitwand cinema at Schloss Seefeld is located in the romantic courtyard of the 15th-century castle on the Ammersee. The lobby welcomes visitors with a small café bar. There are two cinema halls: a larger one upstairs and the cinema lounge on the ground floor, which is furnished with comfortable leather sofas and is barrier-free. Here, special films are shown that are often not available in the big city. In addition, the space is used for readings, live music, exhibitions—or also for dancing!
By contrast, the Breitwand cinema in Gauting is a modern, large cinema complex with five halls and a restaurant. Matthias Helwig, the operator of the cinemas, presents here—in addition to the main program—interesting film series such as a Fellini retrospective, jazz in the cinema, or screwball comedies—and of course “Tango on Film”.
The Breitwand cinema in Starnberg has two barrier-free cinema halls and also a café. All three Breitwand cinemas have repeatedly received awards for their programming structure. For example, in 2013 the top prize for best annual film program went to the Schloss Seefeld cinema. Most recently, in 2019, the Gauting cinema was awarded the top prize as Best Cinema in Bavaria by the FilmFernsehfonds Bayern.
Cinema and milonga – the long tango film nights
You can imagine the schedule of a typical “Tango on Film” night at Schloss Seefeld or in Gauting like this: the tango film screenings usually start at 7:30 pm. After the film, Ralf Sartori and his dance partner Janine Holzer offer an introduction to Argentine tango dancing. That’s why all “beginners” can already dance along at the subsequent tango celebration, the milonga. After that, the tango bar in the respective cinema opens—both for dancing to the most beautiful tangos and for chatting and making contacts. The long tango night lasts until 00:30.
About the organizer
Ralf Sartori has been dancing Argentine tango for over three decades. He has organized numerous milongas and is the author of many well-known books on the subject of tango. One of his current projects is the “Tango Global” book series, a collection of essays. On his website, Tango à la carte, you’ll find a wealth of interesting information about Argentine tango and, of course, everything about the tango films featured there.
We wish all viewers a lot of fun with “Tango on Film”!
More links
“Kino Breitwand Schloss Seefeld”
The movie theater in the romantic courtyard of Schloss Seefeld on Lake Ammersee
International Five Lakes Film Festival
The German magazine Tangodanza offers various tango films in its webshop. Some of the films shown in the cinema can be found here on DVD!
We would like to thank all film producers and the cinemas for kindly providing their image material.
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Update October 2026
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Ralf Sartori in April 2026. The tango community and all fans of tango films will miss him dearly! His longtime dance partner, Janine (“Jenny”), has announced that she will continue the regular tango film nights at Seefeld Castle and the Breitwand Gauting movie theater.
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