Cinema or any other art form cannot easily become a tool for oppression. Despite the existence of films filled with hateful propaganda, the free spirit inherent in these art forms always creates works that break free from strict control and produce subversive art.
Documentary by Spanish filmmaker Luis E. Parés first glance ,the primeval miradaThe film ‘Dangal’, being screened in the International Documentary category at the 16th Kerala International Documentary and Short Film Festival, tells one such story.
When Spanish dictator Francisco Franco opened a film school in 1947, he may have hoped to create films that would present his horrific regime in a positive light. But, things didn’t turn out that way.
This documentary, which is a continuous sequence of works produced by students of the Institute of Investigations and Cinematographic Experience from the late 1940s to the 1960s, shows how subversively minded students created artworks that were deeply critical of life under Franco’s regime.
Many of these films used inventive ways to show the state of the country in indirect ways. In an otherwise typical family drama, scenes show scenes of poverty and crumbling infrastructure in a Spanish city. Another short film follows a housemaid on a Sunday afternoon, the only free time she gets in the week, as she contemplates her meaningless existence in a country where it is difficult for the working class to survive.
Some filmmakers drew inspiration from the emerging Italian neorealist films of the period, while others used the stories of Franz Kafka to criticise the regime in an allegorical fashion.
The students included those who became giants of Spanish cinema in later years, including Luis GarcÃa Berlanga, Antonio Mercero and Carlos Saura. Saura was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Film Festival of Kerala in 2013.
Later, the government tried to crack down on film students through bans and other means, which reminds us of the troubles of the students of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). But, even from there, students like Payal Kapadia have created art that is not to the liking of those in power.
