12th Spanish Film Festival presents
BUÑUEL –
RETROSPECTIVE & EXHIBITION
BUÑUEL - AMIGOS Y PELICULAS (FAMILY
& FILMS)
A comprehensive exhibition and film retrospective
honouring the work of Spanish surrealist filmmaker Luis
Buñuel will be presented by the Spanish Film Festival in Sydney, Canberra
and Melbourne in April 2009, marking the 25th anniversary of
his death.
Considered one of the most important directors in
the history of cinema, Luis Buñuel Portoles died in July 1983 aged 83,
having directed, written and edited over 30 films (including features, shorts
and documentaries) in his native Spain, France, USA and Mexico.
The
exhibition, BUÑUEL – AMIGOS Y PELICULAS (FRIENDS AND FILMS) is a collection
of 30 never-before seen in Australia B&W portraits of friends, family and
location shots selected from the collection held at the Centro Buñuel de
Calanda, Spain, his birthplace. Included in the selection are photographs of
Buñuel with such luminaries of the arts world as Salvador Dali, Federico Garcia
Lorca, Max Ernst and Igor Stravinsky. Also part of the exhibition are film
posters, letters and an A/V presentation with Buñuel’s insightful anecdotes
about his 32 films.
The Director and Curator of the Centro Buñuel –
and co-director of the documentary about Buñuel, Javier Espada - will visit
Australia for the opening of the exhibition.
As the father of
cinematic surrealism, Buñuel’s body of work was often controversial and
pre-occupied with breaking social conventions. His style has had an enormous
influence on filmmakers, prompting Alfred Hitchcock to call him “the best
director ever”. He has won numerous awards, including: an Academy Award® (the
first Spaniard to win an Oscar) and a BAFTA Award for Charme Discret de la
Bourgeoisie (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) (’72) and many film
festival and critics’ awards in Mexico, Berlin and Cannes. His film Los
Olvidados (’50) (The Young and the Damned) was one of the first
two films recognised by UNESCO in 2003 in its Memory of the World Register,
which promotes the preservation of valuable archival holdings.
“The
Buñuel Retrospective, exhibition, masterclasses and panel discussions - will
appeal to film festival-goers, critics and the wider film community already
familiar with his work, as well as others who will discover him for the first
time,” said Director and Founder of the Spanish Film Festival, Natalia
Ortiz.
As a tribute to one of cinema’s most influential
filmmakers, The Buñuel Retrospective and Exhibition aims to complement
Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne’s film festival calendars and, with its
provocative and challenging content, contribute to the cities’ lively screen
culture.
Films screening in the Retrospective include:
UN PERRO
ANDALUZ An Andalusian Dog (1929) France
THE GOLDEN AGE (1930) France
LAS
HURDES Land Without Bread (1933) Spain
WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1953)
Mexico
CRIMINAL LIFE OF ARCHIBALDO DE LA CRUZ (1955)
NAZARIN (1959)
Mexico
VIRIDIANA (1961) Spain/Mexico
El Angel Exterminador The
Exterminating Angel (1962) Mexico
DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID (1964)
France
SIMON DEL DESIERTO Simon of the Desert (1965) Mexico
BELLE DE JOUR
(1967) France/Italy
LA VOIE LACTEE The Milky Way (1969)
France/W.Germany/Italy
LE CHARME DISCRET DE LA BOURGEOISIE The Discreet Charm
of the Bourgeoisie (1972) France
CET OBSCUR OBJET DU DESIR That Obscure
Object of Desire (1977) France/Spain
Complementing the
Retrospective is a recent documentary THE LAST SCRIPT: REMEMBERING LUIS BUÑUEL
El ultimo guion: buñuel en la memoria (2008 Germany/Spain), directed by Gaizka
Veresti and Javier Espada, and featuring his son Juan Luis
Buñuel).
The Exhibition, BUÑUEL – AMIGOS Y PELICULAS (FRIENDS AND
FILMS):
Sydney: 28 April – 30 May at Customs House Gallery
Canberra: 29
April – late August at National Film & Sound Archive launching with a
special screening of the Documentary on 29 April.
Melbourne: 2 May – 29 May
at City of Melbourne Library
The Retrospective screens:
Sydney:
6-18 May as part of the Spanish Film Festival at Palace Academy Twin, Palace
Norton Street & Chauvel
Canberra: 21 May – 7 June at ARC Cinema (National
Film & Sound Archive)
Melbourne: 13-25 May as part of the Spanish Film
Festival at Palace Cinema Como, and Kino Cinemas
The
12th Spanish Film Festival screens the best in contemporary Spanish
features, documentaries, shorts and animation throughout
May.
Tickets and further
information: www.spanishfilmfestival.com
<http://www.spanishfilmfestival.com>
The 2009 Spanish Film
Festival exhibition and retrospective is produced with the support of The
Spanish Embassy, The French and Mexican Embassies, The Consulate General of
Spain in Sydney and Melbourne, National Film and Sound Archive, Customs House,
The City of Sydney as well as private Spanish and Australian companies.
12th Spanish Film Festival presents BUÑUEL – RETROSPECTIVE & EXHIBITION
