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Commissioned card for Cinemateca Uruguaya's Cine a Pedal festival with its twenty-two-bike relay platform and a paused-status badge
Cinemateca Uruguaya — Festival Cine a Pedal — 2013–2019, seven editions, 22-bike relay platform, paused since 20192,1 Image: BicycleCinema.org, drawn from the research corpus

Cinemateca Uruguaya — Festival Cine a Pedal

Uruguay, Montevideo · Festival or event

Paused last verified 2026-09 Paused after 2019 — pandemic restrictions, per artistic director Alejandra Trelles; no Montevideo revival found.
Topology not documented
22-bike relay platform (2017 and 2019 editions)Documented
  • Split from an aggregated directory row

Websitehttps://cinemateca.org.uy

Cinemateca Uruguaya's Festival Cine a Pedal ran seven editions in Montevideo, 2013–2019, with a 22-bicycle relay platform in 2017 and 2019. The festival has been paused since 2019 under pandemic restrictions; its format continues under licence in Nigrán, Galicia.

Key facts

  • Founded

    2013 (Montevideo)1

    Documented

  • Fleet

    22-bike relay platform (2017, 2019 editions)2

    Documented

  • Editions

    7 editions, 2013–20191

    Documented

  • Status

    Paused since 2019 (pandemic); no Montevideo revival found1

    Documented

“Este festival se realizó hasta 2019 y dejamos de hacerlo a partir de las restricciones que impuso la pandemia. Fueron un total de 7 ediciones algunas itinerantes por la ciudad de Montevideo.”

This festival ran until 2019 and we stopped after the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. There were a total of 7 editions, some itinerant around the city of Montevideo.

Alejandra Trelles, artistic director, interview with Ciclosfera1

Cinemateca Uruguaya, the state film institute, founded the festival in 2013. Cyclists pedalled in postas — relay shifts — while the film played, so anyone who wanted to could take a turn. Artistic director Alejandra Trelles has said the festival ran until 2019 and stopped under the restrictions imposed by the pandemic; the September 2026 search found no Montevideo revival.

Specifications

What do these labels mean?

FieldValueConfidenceSources
Fleet22 bikes (relay platform)Documented2
Rotation systemPostas (relay shifts); riders rotate continuouslyDocumented2
Editions7 editions, 2013–2019Documented1
Electrical topologynot disclosedThe 22-bike platform is presumed to be Efecto Cine's Efecto Pedal ultracapacitor rig (10 bikes + 12 docks), but no source states this explicitly for the Montevideo festival.Not disclosed2

History

The fifth and sixth editions, in 2017 and 2019, ran on "una plataforma de 22 bicicletas" that fed the projectors; the sixth ran 15–17 March 2019 at Plaza España in Ciudad Vieja, next to the Cinemateca's own building 2. The format was exported to Bogotá in August 2018 and, from 2022, licensed to Galicia, where it continues annually as the Festival Cinema a Pedal, Nigrán 2,3.

Line drawing of a twenty-two-bicycle relay platform where riders rotate during the film
22-bike relay platform with rider rotation2,1 Image: BicycleCinema.org, drawn from the research corpus

In their own words

"El sistema será de postas, de modo que los ciclistas irán rotando y todo el que quiera pedalear puede participar." — The system runs in relay shifts, so cyclists will rotate and anyone who wants to pedal can take part. 2

Diagram of the festival format's spread to Bogotá and to Nigrán in Galicia
Montevideo festival → Bogotá 2018 → Nigrán franchise 20222,1 Image: BicycleCinema.org, drawn from the research corpus

Seeded:Festival Cinema a Pedal, Nigrán

Sources

  1. [1]Ciclosfera — interview with Alejandra Trellesciclosfera.com
  2. [2]ICAU — 6º Cine a Pedal, 25/02/2019icau.mec.gub.uy
  3. [3]EasyOrganic — interview with Ana Gontad, 06/06/2024easyorganic.es

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