Spanish and Latin American Cinema in the 21st Century
Starts Mon 21 Jan
18:30 – 20:30
8 weeks
Through a series of illustrated case studies this beginners' level course will consider recent trends in 21st Century Spanish and Latin American cinema. Through discussion and debate, course tutors will introduce a broad range of topics, including representations of Latin American cities, transnational productions and performers,film memories, genre andchanging notions of the auteur.
The course includes two screenings:
Mon 4 Feb, 18:15, The Skin I Live In (15)
Mon 18 Feb, 18:30, [REC] ³ Génesis (18)
Led by
Jordana Blejmar, Lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of London.
Carmen Herrero,Head of Spanish at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Chris Perriam, Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Manchester.
James Scorer, Lecturer in Latin American Cultural Studies at the University of Manchester.
Andy Willis, Reader in Film Studies at the University of Salford.
Week 1 - Mon 21 Jan
Topic: Latin American Cities on Screen
Tutor:James Scorer
Venue: The Annexe
The city of the new millennium remains a key site for thinking through contested political identities in Latin America. Unsurprisingly, the region’s filmmakers continue to look for innovative and meaningful ways of putting the city on screen. Using Buenos Aires as a case study, this session will analyse some of the thematic and aesthetic approaches that Argentine directors use when confronting a megacity frequently portrayed as alienating, combative and fragmentary. In particular, it will focus on the different strategies of survival and resistance evident in fiction films made after the economic crisis of 2001.
Films to be discussed include: El bonaerense, Luna de Avellaneda, Medianeras, Un oso rojo and Carancho.
Week 2 - Mon 28 Jan
Topic: Transnational Film Stars
Tutor:Chris Perriam
Venue: The Annexe
In this session we will think about the importance of international film stars to the development of Spanish and Latin American film. In particular we will look at some key roles by actors such as Selma Hayek, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Antonio Banderas, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, working outside their countries of birth, and sometimes in English-language roles. How do their images contribute to the globalisation of film in Spanish? How do they contribute to the mutual enrichment -- or otherwise -- of different national cinema traditions? What do the different audiences make of them, as foreign but familiar faces and voices? As well as extracts from the big films which made some of these stars famous, we will take as a particular case study En la ciudad sin límites/In the City Without Limits (Antonio Hernández, 2002. Spain).
Week 3 - Mon 4 Feb
Screening week
Venue: Cornerhouse Cinema (screen TBC)
The Skin I Live In (15)
(La piel que habito)
Mon 4 Feb, 18:15
Dir Pedro Almodóvar/ES 2011/116 mins/Spanish wEng ST
Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Blanca Suarez
Superstar Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar embraces horror and thriller conventions in his macabre melodrama The Skin I Live In. Almodóvar reunites with Antonio Banderas (Law of Desire) who excels in his role as an eminent plastic surgeon dedicated to creating flawless artificial skin. Haunted by his past and driven by revenge, the doctor’s obsession leads him to carry out increasingly sinister tests to perfect his invention.
Adapted from Thierry Jonquet’s novel ‘Tarantula’ and packed with plenty of Almodóvar’s provocative and visually stunning genre-blending style, this is a must-see for fans of the director’s work.
Week 4 -Mon 11 Feb
Topic: Popular Cinema and Auteurism
Tutor:Carmen Herrero
Venue: The Annexe
In this session there will be an opportunity to discuss The Skin I Live in and to consider Pedro Almódovar as a contemporary auteur. This will also allow us to link auteurism and popular cinema in Spanish cinema and examine how recent Spanish cinema is engaging with a more pragmatic, commercial production model through a genre approach (thriller) that links European, Hollywood and transnational traditions.
Week 5 - Mon 18 Feb
Screening week
Venue: Cornerhouse Cinema (screen TBC)
[REC] ³ Génesis (18)
Mon 18 Feb, 18:30
Dir Paco Plaza/ES 2012/80 mins/Spanish wEng ST
Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Mireia Ros, Carla Nieto, Claire Bashet, Emilio Mencheta, Javier Botet
After co-directing the first two films in what has become a highly successful international horror franchise, Paco Plaza goes solo for the third instalment of the [REC] series. During a lavish wedding reception at a remote mansion a seemingly drunken uncle falls over. Nothing strange there you may think, but he has in fact been bitten by a dog and now carries a terrifying virus. With guests capturing events on their mobile phone cameras, after seeing what unfolds at this celebration you won’t watch a wedding video in the same way again…
The screening will be introduced by Andy Willis, Reader in Film Studies at the University of Salford.
Week 6 - Mon 25 Feb
Topic: Filmax and Horror Cinema.
Tutor:Andy Willis
Venue: The Annexe
Over the past decade horror films have enjoyed both a box-office and critical revival in Spain. Many of these new tales of terror have also found receptive audiences outside Spain, making the genre one of the country’s most important cinematic exports. Using Paco Plaza’s [REC] ³ Génesisas its starting point, this session will consider the ways in which both creative personnel and production companies have attempted to reach both domestic and international audiences with their products and how the horror film has been at the forefront of the internationalisation of contemporary Spanish cinema.
Week 7 - Mon 4 Mar
Topic: Dictatorship and Memory in Latin American Documentaries
Tutor:Jordana Blejmar
Venue: The Annexe
The fictionalised testimonies of those who grew up during the Latin American dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s, but who are now young men and woman, offer somewhat different memories to those of former members of left-wing guerrilla movements and of survivors of clandestine concentration camps. This session will discuss the legacy of the dictatorship and the crossover between documentary, fiction, memory and imagination in contemporary Latin American films directed by members of the so-called post-dictatorship generation, focusing in particular on Argentina.
Films to be discussed include:Los rubios, El tiempo y la sangre and Infancia clandestina.
Week 8 - Mon 11 Mar
Venue: The Annexe
In this final week, Andy Willis will chair a round table discussion with the tutors drawing on the ideas, issues and themes that have been explored throughout the course. We will also introduce films of interest in the forthcoming edition of ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival which takes place from Fri 8 – Sun 24 March.