Un hombre libre

A FREE MAN returns to his rightful place in Spanish history the Andalusian dramatist and novelist Agustín Gómez Arcos, whose sexually transgressive and radical work was censored and banned in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship and led to his exile to France. Arcos adopted French as his literary language, which he called the language of freedom, and centered marginalized, queer, and transsexual characters in his work as the ultimate symbols of liberty and the antithesis to fascism. He became one of the most celebrated writers in France, while remaining largely forgotten in his native country, including in post-Franco Spain, which preferred to ignore its recent history. Through his writings, interviews, and archival material, the film recovers the memory of a free, uncompromising, and committed creator. An intimate and necessary portrait of an author whose voice resonates more powerfully than ever today.