121280 Ritual
Pregnancy becomes ritual in Antoinetta Angelidi’s film of her son’s birth, finished 28 years later.
16'
Greece
IFFR 2024
In 1947, the Franco regime opened the first film school in Spain. Originally it was called Instituto de Investigaciones y Experiencias Cinematográficas (IIEC), but from 1961 until it closed in 1975 it was known as Escuela Oficial de Cinematografía (EOC).
The official reason the institution was founded was to provide clearly structured professional training for the industry, however, one can also assume that the fascist state had an interest in keeping an eye on the burgeoning talents. In contrast to what one might have expected, it became a sphere of freedom and indeed experimentation, especially, many say, from 1961 on when the school's directorship changed. José Luis Sáenz de Heredia replaced founder Victoriano López García, Sáenz de Heredia was one of the most complex and contradictory figures of Francoist cinema, an ‘official' director who was also a free spirit.
This is the story of how under López García and Sáenz de Heredia two generations of geniuses – let's just mention Carlos Saura, Luis García-Berlanga, Jaime Chávarri, Mario Camus, Antonio Mercero, Julio Diamante – blossomed at this institution. The school’s impact was felt far beyond Spain, including in Colombia where graduate Jose María Arzuaga would later become the mentor of Luis Ospina.
– Olaf Möller
IFFR 2024
Programme IFFR 2024
A sphere of collective remembrance and imagination offering restored classics, documentaries on film culture, and explorations of cinema’s heritage.
Read more about this programmePregnancy becomes ritual in Antoinetta Angelidi’s film of her son’s birth, finished 28 years later.
16'
Greece
IFFR 2024
An invasive film crew attempts to make a gritty documentary on some Cali slums.
27'
Colombia
IFFR 2024
A sensitive and insightful documentary on the art of Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti.
53'
Switzerland
IFFR 2024