This thesis provides a study of the subversive cinematographic practices in Spain during the period of political repression under Francoism (1939-1975). In foregrounding the non-conformist cinema...Show moreThis thesis provides a study of the subversive cinematographic practices in Spain during the period of political repression under Francoism (1939-1975). In foregrounding the non-conformist cinema of the time, it is my hope that this thesis contributes to the reconstruction of an immediate past in order to fight against the loss of memory, instigated by the dominant accounts of the history of that period, including that of the Spanish cinema. This thesis aims, then, to bring to light the repression that was encouraged by the state within the purview of film in order to hinder freedom of speech, and to revive a period of Spanish film history in which some films must be seen, I argue, as an instrument for social criticism. Against this background of repression I have, firstly, drawn attention on the institutional mechanisms and administrative procedures of censorship and propaganda – through which the state exercised control over the film making practices –, and the propaganda films made by directors who followed the principles of the regime, particularly focusing on the case of José Luis Sáenz de Heredia. Secondly, I have focused on two different lines of dissidence, i.e. internal and external, through the works of Falangist director José Antonio Nieves Conde, and the collaborative works of Luis García Berlanga and Juan Antonio Bardem, respectively.Show less
