Carlos Saura Films 1965-1979 October 6–8, 2011

In collaboration with the İstanbul Cervantes Institute, İstanbul Modern Cinema presents a selection of the films made between 1965 and 1979 by the doyen of Spanish cinema Carlos Saura.

It was during this period that Saura produced his most powerful films in a style that could be considered as an original response to the political and historical restrictions of Spanish culture. The six films in this selection, in which we can trace the director’s extremely personal cinematography, question the Spanish identity in the shadow of Franco and reflect worlds in which reality is depicted only subjectively using surrealist elements.

"I think Spanish cinema owes much to Franco. Our biggest problem when making films at that time was censorship. A film would always be monitored at every step, from the writing phase to editing, and was censored over and over again. To escape these circumstances we were forced to develop a metaphoric language. From then on nothing on the screen stood for its direct meaning, each image connoted the sufferings of Spain. I remember once while my script was being censored, because I objected to the deletion of a scene the official took out his gun, laid it on the table and, looking me in the eye, told me to do as he said."