Discovering Spain (1992)

Land Without Bread

An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time. (Silent short, voiced in 1937 and 1996.)

Songs for After a War

A particular reading of the forties and fifties in Spain, the hard years of famine and repression after the massacre of the Civil War, through popular culture: songs, newspapers and magazines, movies and newsreels.

Village of Spain

This film covers the sociology, agriculture, customs, and handicrafts of Spain's villages.

Bienvenido Mr. Heston

Spain, 1961. Life in the small village of Torrelobatón, in the province of Valladolid, was turned upside down when the cinematic magic circus of a future Hollywood blockbuster, produced by Samuel Bronston, the rogue mogul of his own film empire, came to town: its inhabitants became participants and witnesses of the shooting of “El Cid,” a film directed by Anthony Mann, starring mythical actors Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Those days, legends came alive.

#AbroHilo

Humor shapes the way Spaniards interact on Twitter: all sorts of topics can be used to make a joke and many anonymous commentators can become celebrities and compete with professional comedians. But sometimes certain jokes that defy political correctness have a high price for those who dare to make them, jokes that can freeze the smiles of thousands of people whose prejudices can put an end to some very successful artistic careers.

¡Al fútbol!

Any given Sunday of 1974 in Spain, soccer games in several stadiums, the sarcastic voice of commentators, the inevitable presence of advertising. Goal! The victors and the defeated.

Juan Carlos, King of Spain

This documentary follows Juan Carlos's life through archive footage and exclusive interviews with the king himself giving his opinion and thoughts to the way history played out.

1908-2008 y sigo

Through interviews with different people linked to the work and life of the Basque sculptor Jorge Oteiza (1908-2003), this documentary aims to unravel fundamental aspects of his work.

Rioja, Land of the Thousand Wines

By telling the human stories behind the entire value chain that gives life to the Spanish wine with the greatest international projection, ‘Rioja, Land of the Thousand Wines’ portrays a currently blooming wine region underpinned by the talent and the work of the new generations of winemakers that operate side by side with the region’s historic wineries. The film puts the focus on the match between territory and product, wisdom and tradition, and lays a bridge between the origins and the future of Rioja. An immersion into a fascinating world that, through captivating cinematography and careful editing, attempts to find the keys to understanding what Rioja wine is and what makes it so special.

El precio de la risa

The life of Paco Martínez Soria (1902-1982), one of the most famous and beloved Spanish actors, both on stage and screen; a comedian, a theatrical producer, an idol for the masses. A celebration of the uncommon gift of making people laugh.

Magnicidios Poe

The sarcastic account of the assassination of five Spanish politicians between 1870 and 1973 is mixed with the narration of five short stories by Edgar Allan Poe illustrated by five skillful pencil artists. A documentary, a video essay, a collage, a provocative experiment where various pop culture figures and icons perform unexpected cameos. The macabre joke of a jester. Never more.

Las locuras de don Quijote

An epic journey through Don Quixote's troubled mind, from which five paths to the unknown are opened: to reason, to freedom, to love, to friendship, to adventure; although only three destinations await at the end of an imaginary and audacious existence: the narrative of the adventurous life of Cervantes; the survival of a legendary novel in these heathen times, when the one-armed gentleman is nothing but dust and bones; the memory of the living, writers and scholars, where both the tormented captive and the insane hero, are immortals beings and will be forever.

Experiment Stuka

Spanish Civil War, May, 1938. Four villages in Castellón, Benassal, Albocàsser, Ares del Maestrat and Vilar de Canes, were bombed from the sky and ravaged. 38 people died. Inhabitants never knew for sure who piloted the planes responsible for such atrocity, although the rebel propaganda attributed the act to the republican side. Now, 80 years later, the truth is finally exposed.

La revolución de los balcones

Documentary made by the Spanish political party VOX about the Catalan referendum of 2017 from the point of view of some leaders of the party.

Disney: Through the Looking Glass

Tito del Amo, a passionate 72-year-old researcher, takes the final step to unravel the enigma about the alleged Spanish origin of the American cartoonist Walt Disney, making the same journey that his supposed mother made to give him up for adoption in Chicago. A journey that begins in Mojácar, Almería, Spain, and ends in New York. An exciting adventure, like Alicia's through the looking glass, to discover what is truth and what is not, with an unexpected result.

Voces en imágenes

In Spain, they have been the others for decades, those whose names are not known because their faces never appear in front of a camera; those whose voices are linked to the best performances in the mind of any cinema aficionado. They are the other actors, those who work in the shadows, those who are often criticized by the cinephiles who defend the original version, the purity and integrity of the motion pictures. They are the dubbing actors.

Bones of Contention

A history of the political and social repression carried out by the ruthless regime of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco between 1936 and 1975 that focuses on the lives of gays and lesbians during those dark years and the death of the Spanish gay poet Federico García Lorca.

Chavela

Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

The Sea Stares at Us from Afar

Huelva, Spain, an isolated region lost in time. The grass, the sand and the sky are the same that those foreigners saw in the spring of 1895, when they crossed the sea from a distant country to mark the unspoiled terrain and extract its wealth, when the tower was new, when people could climb to the top of the highest dune and imagine that the city of Tartessos was still there, in the distance, almost invisible in the morning brume.

Pactes de silenci

Due to the increasing privatization of basic public services in Spain, companies such as BB Serveis are accused of misappropriating several million euros of public money intended to finance care for the elderly and other dependent persons.

Alfonso Sánchez

Famous Spanish film critic Alfonso Sánchez talks about his personal life, his work and Anouk Aimée. A sentimental tribute to one of the most relevant figures on the Spanish film scene.

City of the Dead

The human being feels generally as fascinated as fearful before death and the inevitable fact of dying. Workers at the cemetery of Palma de Mallorca, in Spain, face this harsh reality every day, so they have found a way to deal with it.

You Alone

In their spare time, after their studies or their work, children and adolescents between the ages of eight and sixteen meet at the School of Bullfighting in Madrid to learn the Art of Cúchares: Torear. In their stomachs there is no hunger as in the past, their dreams do not lie in having a farmhouse and being famous. Their only dreams are to be in front of a bull, animal with which death goes, fact of which they are fully aware, as their teachers continually remind them. These, retired bullfighters, some by age, others by force and all with their bodies full of scars produced by the horns of a bull.

Orbayu

Nina Caprez and Cédric Lachat are passionate climbers. A passion they share and pushed them to become professionals. They travel around the world in search of walls and cliffs of exception. In Spring 2014 they set up camp beneath one of the most difficult multi-pitch routes in the world – Orbayu (2000 meters). Orbayu is a large limestone tooth which rises above the natural park of Picos de Europa in Spain. This huge wall is among the most beautiful in the world. It’s a mixture of extreme difficulty (8c). But the major problem with this type of wall lies in the fact that weather changes are very fast: rain, low temperatures, wind, etc… The ascent of such walls demand unusual experience. Nina and Cédric document joy, fear, danger, but also the beauty of climbing in Orbayu.

To My Son in Spain: Finnish Canadians in the Spanish Civil War

This documentary features the story of Jules Paivio, the last living Canadian volunteer of the infamous Mackenzie-Papineau Battallion of the “International Brigades”. When Jules left from his home near Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario, his father, a famous Finnish poet, wrote a lasting lament: “To My Son In Spain”. In 1936-37, 1700 Canadians volunteered to fight with the Spanish people against a fascist coup d’etat led by elements of the Spanish Army. Backed by Musselini and Hitler, the fascists were bent on overthrowing Spain’s democratically elected socialist government and replacing it with military and church rule. It could be argued this conflict marked the true beginning of what would become World War II.

Catalonia: Spain on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

A serious crisis has shaken Spain since the referendum on self-determination and the proclamation of the independence of Catalonia by the government of Carles Puigdemont, bold actions firmly fought by the Spanish government by applying the constitutional article that allows it to place a region under guardianship. While Spain is on the verge of implosion, Europe is holding its breath.

El conserje

Plot unavailable

Franco on Trial: The Spanish Nuremberg?

Franco on Trial is the new film by Dietmar Post and Lucía Palacios. After the success of Franco's Settlers, their first encounter with Franco's dictatorship, they are now setting their sights on one of the darkest chapters of European history: the presumed organized extermination that took place during the coup, the war, and the subsequent dictatorship led by Franco, as well as Argentina's current effort, by invoking the principle of universal jurisdiction, to prosecute Francoists accused of committing crimes against humanity. The film is also a sore reminder of an issue that still stands today: the clear-cut accountability held by Germany, Italy, and Portugal. The film accomplishes to give both sides a voice - those against whom the killing has been directed; and the side of the perpetrators.

Almodóvar, todo sobre ellas

When looking at Pedro Almodóvar’s filmography, it becomes evident that women are everywhere; in fact, his work revolves around them. His divas are the best to create a real portrait of Almodóvar and evoke the emotional power of his films. These women are the ideal observers of a cinematic career that, from La Mancha to Hollywood, has changed the image of Spain in the world.