A homage to Britain’s flamenco pioneers
Spanish Steps
PASSION and flamenco go together like pan con tomate, so it’s no surprise to hear producer-director Anna Holmes describe her film Spanish Steps: Flamenco in a Foreign Land as “a passion project”.
The making of this documentary has been a labour of love for the past 18 months or so after Anna was unable to secure funding from production companies. But thanks to a lifelong love of dance, plus the support of friends and family and her assistant producer Victor, Anna has succeeded in making her first film.
Her other reason for wanting to make this documentary was to capture a slice of social history before it’s too late – many of these flamenco pioneers are now in their 80s and sadly may not be with us for much longer.
London in the 1950s, what with post-war austerity and the notorious smog, must have been a pretty bleak place at times. But this was also an era of great social change, with many exciting, exotic new trends and tastes arriving from overseas.
¡Mira! México Film Festival
21 – 27 January 2010. The Barbican Centre, London
From civil war and revolution in the Silent era, through the Golden Age of the 30s and 40s to the Nuevo Cine Mexicano, establishing global big-hitters Alfonso Arau (Like Water for Chocolate), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros) Carlos Reygadas (Silent Light), Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Guillermo del Toro (The Devil’s Backbone) to name a few, Mexican cinema continues to go from strength to strength.
London Spanish Film Festival
We are delighted to present, once again, a selection of some of the best Spanish films from last year. The line-up includes Fesser’s controversial Camino, the big winner at the last Goya Awards and the last film directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes, Sólo quiero caminar, a director who we know, and welcome back for his successful feature Alatriste. As usual, we’ve also paid special attention to films by emerging talents (Un novio para Yasmina, Myna se va, La noche que dejó de llover). Vampir cuadecuc, an avant-garde film made in 1970 by producer and experimental filmmaker Pere Portabella, also features exceptionally in the selection as this film was in fact first shown on Spanish screens in 2008.
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