Mexican cinema dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ideal image of it. With the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, Mexican and foreign makers of silent films seized the opportunity to document its leaders and events. From 1915 onward, Mexican cinema focused on narrative film.
The art of motion-picture making within Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema.
Belle Époque is a 1992 Spanish comedy-drama film directed by Fernando Trueba. Consisting of a fable-like story, primarily displaying a warm tone, and set in an idyllic countryside location during the transition to the Second Spanish Republic, the film features Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Penélope Cruz, Miriam Díaz Aroca, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Gabino Diego and Chus Lampreave, among others.
Luis García-Berlanga MartíMMT was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. Acclaimed as a pioneer of modern Spanish cinema, his films are marked by social satire and acerbic critiques of Spanish culture under the Francoist dictatorship. His most famous works include Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953), which competed for the Grand Prix at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival, The Executioner (1963), which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 24th Venice International Film Festival, and Plácido (1961), nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962. The latter marked the beginning of his long-time collaboration with screenwriter Rafael Azcona, with whom he co-wrote the scripts for seven of his films between 1961 and 1987.
Carlos Saura Atarés was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career that spanned over half a century, and his films won many international awards.
Carmen is a 1983 Spanish film adaptation of the novel Carmen by Prosper Mérimée, using music from the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet. It was directed and choreographed in the flamenco style by Carlos Saura and María Pagés. It is the second part of Saura's flamenco trilogy in the 1980s, preceded by Bodas de sangre and followed by El amor brujo. The film was an Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the 56th Academy Awards.
Main Street is a 1956 Spanish drama film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem starring Betsy Blair and José Suárez. It is based on a Carlos Arniches play titled La señorita de Trévelez. Shooting locations were Palencia, Cuenca and Logroño. The film won the FIPRESCI Award at the Venice Film Festival. It was also selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 30th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Plácido is a 1960 Spanish black comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga. It was nominated to the Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. It was also entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.
María del Carmen García Galisteo, known professionally as Carmen Sevilla, was a Spanish actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career in the 1940s and became one of the most popular and highest paid stars of Spanish cinema until the 1970s. In 1991, at the age of sixty, she began her career as a television presenter, working for the three major Spanish networks until her retirement in 2010. At the time of her death, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The Blind Sunflowers is a 2008 Spanish film directed by José Luis Cuerda and written by Rafael Azcona and Cuerda, based on the 2004 novel The Blind Sunflowers by Alberto Méndez. The film stars Maribel Verdú, Javier Cámara and Raúl Arévalo.
Afternoon of the Bulls is a 1956 Spanish drama film directed by Ladislao Vajda. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 29th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
The Delinquents is a 1960 Spanish neorealist drama film directed by Carlos Saura. It was entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.
The Girl in Mourning is a 1964 Spanish comedy film directed by Manuel Summers. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 37th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Spain Again is a 1969 Spanish drama film directed by Jaime Camino. It was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 41st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Without Compassion is a 1994 Peruvian drama film directed by Francisco José Lombardi, and based on the 1866 novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the Peruvian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 67th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
At Five O'Clock in the Afternoon is a 1961 Spanish drama film directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and starring Rafael Alcántara. The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 33rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. According to MGM records, the film made a profit of $46,000.
La Playa DC is a 2012 internationally co-produced drama film written and directed by Juan Andrés Arango. The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. The Spanish-language film was selected as the Colombian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
An Andalusian Gentleman is a 1954 Spanish musical film directed by Luis Lucia and starring Jorge Mistral, Carmen Sevilla and Manuel Luna.
Andalusia Express is a 1956 Italian-Spanish drama film directed by Francisco Rovira Beleta and starring Jorge Mistral, Marisa de Leza and Mara Berni.
It Happened in Seville is a 1955 Spanish musical film directed by José Gutiérrez Maesso and starring Juanita Reina, Rubén Rojo and Alfredo Mayo. It is a remake of the 1942 film The White Dove in which Reina had also starred. It was remade again in 1966 as Road to Rocío with Carmen Sevilla as the lead.
