Bread And Films
In the beginning, so it goes, in a moment of sheer boredom, God created two beings. This pair passed the time with an apple and sex... which eventually resulted in the earth being populated by bored people who had to make their own entertainment. Cain killed Abel without really knowing what he was doing and inadvertently provided the storyline for the first ever drama and one which has been told down through the generations ever since.
The Greeks were masters of the art of theatre, the Romans had their circus and both used their newly-developed skills to ensure that the masses at the bottom of the social heap were told only what they needed to know. The ensuing centuries have seen the development of a wide range of forms of entertainment: the troubadour, modern theatre, opera, magic lanterns... and cinema.
It's worth remembering that, when cinema was born, it consisted of very few pictures and no text at all. Given that much of today's cinema seems to have lost its nerve, to find something worthy of our attention we have to turn to the short film - the form closest to the original roots of cinema.
A huge number of short films have always been produced in Spain. The documentary and the NO-DO film topped the agenda during the Civil War in order to support the political regime, as in other countries. Throughout the 1970s and into the glossy 1990s, the situation developed further. Short films are helped with money from the state aimed at supporting projects and finished products - around 150 million pesetas - and over one hundred productions are completed, year on year.
The short film in Spain is dominated by the narrative, the story. Compared with rather simple plots in the past, nowadays an enormous variety of themes are dealt with and a whole host of engaging stories are told. Also technically, Spanish short films are now of a quality which is respected and rewarded at international film festivals all over the world. Each spanish short film, on average, costs over 6 million pesetas to produce. It is rare for any short film to bring in so much money, however, this does not effect the number being produced. Apart from a small number of notable exceptions, Spanish short films are not shown in mainstream cinemas - this means that film festivals are the main focus for a form fighting for survival.
On the subject of film festivals - I've helped put together a number of retrospectives, and I can assure that a tremendous understanding of Spanish short films went into putting the programme together.
You will have the chance to see the work of many directors: the revered (Saura, Fernando Trueba, Jose Luis Garci), the popular (Alex de la Iglesia, Javier Fesser) and the novelists (Ivan Zuluetea, Mercedes Gaspar, Marc Recha, Begona Vicario, Achero Manas).
These and many other film-makers take you to the Manzanares river, we will remember Marilyn, we'll learn something about terrorism and prison life, we'll know how it is to be loved and, thanks to the monotony of monogamy, we'll experience a yen for foreign pastures new. We'll disappear into the darkness for several days, enjoy contact with the world exclusively through our feet and get introduced to Manolo who had been through it all before Truman came along with his version of the same story.
A tip: go without bread and beer for a couple of days and try some short films instead. The copies supplied by the ministry and the Hamburg International Short Film Festival will make sure you don't regret it. So, cancel whatever appointments you have - I like seeing cinemas fit to burst - and judge for yourselves if Spanish shorts films are for you. Many thanks.
Medardo Amor
Co-ordinator, Short Film Promotion
I.C.A.A. (Institute for Film and Visual Arts)
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SPAIN 1
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Saturday, 2th June 2001, 10.30 p.m. Zeise 2
Tuesday, 5th June 2001, 8.00 p.m. Zeise 1
1. El Pequeño Rio Manzanares
Carlos Saura, Spain 1956, 9 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
documentary
2. Vis a Vis
Antonio Cano, Spain 1992, 10 Min., 35 mm, color, ohne Dialog
short fiction
3. El Columpio
Álvaro Fernández Armero, Spain 1992, 9 Min., 35 mm, color, span OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
4. Las partes de mí que te aman son seres vacíos
Mercedes Gaspar, Spain 1995, 10 Min., 35 mm , color, ohne Dialog
Animationsfilm
5. Esposados
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Spain 1996, 24 Min., 35 mm, b/w, span. OF mit engl. UT
short fiction
6. El rugido de la mantis
Pep Bosch, Spain 1999, 10 Min., 35 mm, color, ohne Dialog
short fiction
7. Pasión por ti (Zureganako Grina)
Begoña Vicario, Spain 1996, 4 Min., 35 mm, color, ohne Dialog
Animationsfilm
8. Los Dardos del Amor
David Pareja, Álvaro Pastor, Spain 1998, 21 Min., 35 mm, b/w, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
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SPAIN 2
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Sunday, 3th June 2001, 10.30 p.m. Zeise 2
Thursday, 7th June 2001, 5.30 p.m. Metropolis
1. Las que perdieron
Pepa Álvarez, Spain 1987, 11Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF mit engl. UT,
short fiction
2. A Violeta
María Salgado, Spain 1998, 19 Min., 35 mm, Lichtton, color, span. OF m. engl. UT,
short fiction
3. Es tard
Marc Recha, Spain 1993, 10 Min., 35 mm, b/w, katal. OF m. engl. UT,
short fiction
4. Hola, Mamá
Pablo Fernández, Spain 1997, 11 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
5. Días sin luz
Jaume Balagueró, Spain 1995, 11 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
6. Ruleta
Roberto Santiago, Spain 1999, 12 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT,
short fiction
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SPAIN 3 |
Monday, 4th June 2001, 3.00 p.m. Metropolis
Friday, 8th June 2001, 8.00 p.m. Zeise 2
1. Frank Stein
Iván Zulueta, Spain 1972, 2'56 Min., 35 mm, b/w, span. OF
experimental
2. Masaje
Iván Zulueta, Spain 1972, 3'14 Min, 35 mm, b/w, span. OF
experimental
3. Mejor no hables
Pedro Paz, Spain 1994, 13 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
4. El León enamorado
Fernando Trueba, Spain 1979
5. Hongos
Ramón Salazar Hoogers, Spain 1999, 21 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
6. Metro
Achero Mañas, Spain 1995, 9'30 Min., 35 mm, Farbe & b/w, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
7. Back Room
Guillem Morales, Spain 1999, 13 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
8. Libre Indirecto
Juanjo Giménez, Spain 1997, 10 Min., 35 mm CS, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
9. ?Quieres que te lo cuente?
Blanco, Faemino & Jurdao, Spain 1998, 6 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
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SPAIN 4 |
Monday, 4th June 2001, 8.00 p.m. Zeise 1
Wednesday, 6th June 2001, 10.30 p.m. Zeise 2
1. Quien mal anda mal acaba
Carles Sans, Spain 1993, 11 Min., 35 mm, color, ohne Dialog
short fiction
2. Lo Básico
José García Hernández, Spain 2000, 12'30 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
3. Txarriboda
Manuel Lorenzo, Spain 1995, 12'30 Min., 35 mm, b/w, ohne Dialog
short fiction
4. Huntza (La Hiedra)
Antonio Conesa, Spain 1992, 15 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
5. Pregunta por mi
Begoña Vicario, Spain 1996, 4 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
Animationsfilm
6. Mirindas Asesinas
Álex de la Iglesia, Spain 1990, 12 Min., 35 mm, b/w, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
7. Pecados Capitales
Dionisio Pérez Galindo, Spain 1995, 18 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
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SPAIN 5 |
Monday, 4th June 2001, 10.30 p.m. Metropolis
Friday, 8th June 2001, 5.30 p.m. Zeise 1
1. No-Do No. 599-A
Noticiario-Documental, Spain 1954, 35 mm, b/w, span. OF m. engl. UT
documentary
2. Érase
Pilar García Eligido, Spain 1996, 18 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
3. Mi Marilyn
José Luis Garci, Spain 1975, 15 Min., 35 mm, Farbe
documentary
4. El Secdleto de la Tlompeta
Spain 1995, 18 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
5. Walter Peralta
Jordi Molla, Spain 1993, 13 Min., 35 mm, b/w, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
6. Te lo mereces
Felipe Jimenez Luna, Spain 1996, 18 Min., 35 mm, color, span. OF m. engl. UT
short fiction
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