Mario Handler was born on November 10, 1935 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is a renowned filmmaker and photographer, considered by many to be the pioneer of Uruguayan militant cinema.

He made his debut film "Vanguardista" in 1958. Afterwards he traveled to Germany where he did an internship in scientific cinema at the IWF (Institut für den Wissenschaftlichen Film). Later, in Czechoslovakia he made a documentary called In Prague.