Máx Pou, Documentary Filmmaker and Photographer

Máximo José Pou Rodríguez was born on July 30, 1925, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and died in 2007. He was a documentary filmmaker and photographer, who started in this discipline in 1949, and developed an intense professional work in the field of portraiture, landscape and architectural photography.

He grew up in an environment related to photography, as his father, Julio Pou Primet (1862-1943), was also a photographer, and painter and sculptor, and considered one of the pioneers of photography in Dominican Republic.

In 1952, he took part in the inaugural program on national television, and in 1962 was appointed as general supervisor of the country's official broadcaster, and produces a cultural program consisting of adaptations of plays.

Begining in 1959, Pou produced a series of commissioned documentaries which helped to mark his career as a documentary filmmaker; such as the documentary "Vía Libre" (1962), a short film about the first free elections after the Trujillo dictatorship.

His filmography includes: Puente para el Yaque (1959), Vía libre (1962), El esfuerzo de un pueblo, (1968), Carnaval dominicano (1969), Santo Domingo: cuna de América (1970), Luisa (1973), Fondo negro o Los dueños del sol (1976), Lengua azul (1976), Rescate del patrimonio cultural en la República Dominicana (1976).