La puerta entornada (The Door Ajar)

This session is a window into the universe of what was then called “Spanish Guinea” through a feature film produced by Hermic Films. This film production company, founded by the filmmaker Manuel Hernández Sanjuán, remained active practically throughout the Franco regime, and in different campaigns documented the life, customs and daily processes of settlement and colonial development of Spain in Guinea and Morocco. The film La puerta entornada [The Door Ajar] (1954) is exemplary in this sense. In a didactic tone of proselytizing intention, we accompany an expedition of explorers through Guinea. While the landscapes amaze the audience, historical, geographical and economic notions about the colony are conveyed and, at the same time, the complex coexistence of the traditions of the natives and those imported from the metropolis becomes evident.