This article presents the results of a genealogical analysis of the representation of young people in Chilean fiction films released between 1939-1999. The study involved analyzing 43 feature films, as well as examining archives with documents and cultural products from each era and documenting the lives of the directors and the reception of the films when they were released. The author develo-ped a methodology titled Youth Film Archives that involves cinematographic analysis and identifying the presence of the three plot structures used to represent young people in these films: class, love/ sexuality and expected trajectories. The study evidences the importance of the historical analysis of youth film production, given the role that cultural productions like cinema have in constructing our ideas about young people.