Blog del Instituto Cervantes de Dublín

Luis García Berlanga was well known by his films and by his love for eroticism. He was director of the collection of erotic literature “La Sonrisa Vertical” (The Vertical Smile) since its creation in Tusquets publishing house, along with the subsequent award for erotic literature of the same name.

This month, here at the library we would like to invite our readers to get to know this literary genre, in honour of Berlanga, and, it goes without saying, revisit his body of films, which will also feature in a film cycle dedicated to the director in the new year, organised by Instituto Cervantes Dublin.

Luis García Berlanga falleció en Madrid el pasado 13 de noviembre a la edad de 89 años. Sus películas forman parte ya de la historia de España y del cine mundial. Quizás la más conocida sea “Bienvenido Mr. Marshall”.

No menos conocido que su cine era su afición al erotismo. Él fue director, desde su creación en la editorial Tusquets, de la colección de literatura erótica “La Sonrisa Vertical” y del premio de literatura erótica de este mismo nombre.

Este mes, la biblioteca propone a sus lectores un acercamiento a este género literario, en honor a Berlanga, y como no, un repaso a su filmografía, que también será recordada a comienzos del año próximo, en un ciclo de cine organizado por el Instituto Cervantes de Dublín.

During the Franco years, the survival of independent cinema in Spain was thanks to the “Three Bs” — Luis Buñuel, Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga. The last of these irreverent, original film-makers, who has died aged 89, Berlanga was pivotal in reviving the Spanish film industry after the end of the civil war, despite his many tussles with Franco’s censors.

In 1953 he established himself with ¡Bienvenido, Mister Marshall! (Welcome, Mr Marshall!), a masterful comedy about the hopes of Spanish villagers that the Marshall Plan will make them rich.

Nick Caistor

Read more… The Guardian.co.uk

film series at #ICDublin

Un ABCdario del cine Ñ is a cinema season that takes us on a journey through Spanish cinema, from its inception to more recent productions, at the hands of directors that may be described as young, mythical, exceptional and internationally renowned.

You can enjoy the best of Spanish comedies, drama, animation and documentaries.

It is a cinema season that ensures a complete representation of Spanish cinema through the work of Spanish directors.

03/11/2010 to 15/12/2010

7 pm. Café Literario.
Instituto Cervantes in Dublin

film series at IC Dublin

The contemporary documentary cycle “Transcultural: through the eyes of others” brings together a series of films which tackle the migratory convergence taking place in today’s Spain.

The four documentaries in this selection have been made by independent production companies, and each one visibly attempts to a give new perspective on the meeting of cultures, highlighting both problems and solutions.

The common thread in these productions is the need to discuss issues which are right up to the minute, and to shed light on the tensions and assimilations inherent in the collision of cultures.

The documentaries in this cycle propose answers to the age-old problem of identity, and, in clear terms, set out to lay the foundations for a better future in which we can all integrate through dialogue.

• Night Flowers.
• Switch Off.
• Next Station.
• Settlers.