Film on Art

Since the 1940s, a whole series of filmmakers have consciously explored the possibilities of filming the arts, using diverse and often conflicting strategies. In my book Film on Art. From the Dramatisation of Painting to the Essay Film (“El cine sobre arte. De la dramatización de la pintura al cine-ensayo”, Shangrila, 2019), I propose seven options, each with pioneering experiments, theoretical debates, and subsequent detours. The seventh of these, the last in chronological order, is an essay film on art and brings together all the other experiments in a meta-reflexive form that uses the expressive tools of the literary essay. My work as a filmmaker falls within the last option, particularly my trilogy of political reactivation of Spanish works of art, which includes a film about painting (The Guernica Variations, 2012), another about architecture (City of Work, 2015) and a third piece on literature (The Tableau of Wonders, 2021). In this masterclass, I will briefly examine the characteristics of each of the trends. I will offer a brief description of the devices I use in my films, focusing on my essay-film on Cervantes in times of pandemics and fake news (The Tableau of Wonders, 2021). This event is linked to the screening that will take place on the same day at the Instituto Cervantes in Manchester: Vessels of Communication with Guillermo G Peydró. Free event but registration is required.