Spanish A.B.C.

Escala de grisos

October 2021 •Catalan

Barcelona Works for the Front

July 1936 •Spanish

A propaganda documentary about the Comité Central de Abastos. This committee provided food and support for the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War.

Living the Utopia

November 1997 •Spanish

A retrospective look at the anarcho-syndicalist and anarcho-communist experience in Spain from 1930 until the end of the Civil War in 1939.

The Truth About Reading

Invalid date •English

The Truth About Reading looks at the illiteracy problem in America, highlighting people who learned to read as adults, and sharing proposed solutions for working towards a future where every child learns to read proficiently.

Caravan of the Books: Kenya's Mobile Camel Library

Invalid date •English

A library on four legs, the world's only existing Camel Library is located in Northern Kenya. As they pass antelopes and giraffes, the heavily loadedcaravan of camels are routinely carrying books through the rough savannah.In the villages with their houses of mud and dung these tenacious desert ships are wishfully awaited by the people of the nomadic Muslim tribes. Under the shade of acacia trees, especially the children are excitedly turning pages of school books, novels and comics. However, 400 kilometers outside of the capital city of Nairobi the local librarians are still struggling with illiteracy, old traditions, insufficient funds, blistering sun and - stubborn camels... This is the story about the Camel Library, about inquisitive children, about the origins of a book and about a camel and an exceptional librarian in the heart of Africa within the UNESCO-world decade of alphabetization.

Picassos Friseur

October 2001 •German

In 1948 Pablo Picasso met the hairdresser Eugenio Arias. Both were linked by the fate of emigration. If Picasso initially only had his hair cut by Arias, a deep friendship soon developed.

Milicianes

January 2019 •Catalan

Aidez l'Espagne

January 1969 •Catalan

The Colegio de Arquitectos de Catalunya commissioned Pere Portabella to make this film for the Joan Miró retrospective exhibit in 1969. There were heated discussions on whether it would be prudent to screen the film during the exhibit. Portabella took the following stance: "either both films are screened or they don't screen any" and, finally, both Miro l'Altre and Aidez l'Espagne were shown. The film was made by combining newsreels and film material from the Spanish Civil War with prints by Miró from the series "Barcelona" (1939-1944). The film ends with the painter's "pochoir" known as Aidez l'Espagne.

To My Son in Spain: Finnish Canadians in the Spanish Civil War

May 2009 •English

This documentary features the story of Jules Paivio, the last living Canadian volunteer of the infamous Mackenzie-Papineau Battallion of the “International Brigades”. When Jules left from his home near Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario, his father, a famous Finnish poet, wrote a lasting lament: “To My Son In Spain”. In 1936-37, 1700 Canadians volunteered to fight with the Spanish people against a fascist coup d’etat led by elements of the Spanish Army. Backed by Musselini and Hitler, the fascists were bent on overthrowing Spain’s democratically elected socialist government and replacing it with military and church rule. It could be argued this conflict marked the true beginning of what would become World War II.

Songs for After a War

February 1976 •Spanish

A particular reading of the hard years of famine, repression and censorship after the massacre of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), through popular culture: songs, newspapers and magazines, movies and newsreels.

Words for an End of the World

November 2020 •Spanish

Spain, April 14, 1931. The Second Republic is born. From the beginning, the writer Miguel de Unamuno is considered one of the ethical pillars of the new regime. Five years later, on December 31, 1936, a few months after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), Unamuno dies at his home in Salamanca, capital of the rebel side, led by General Francisco Franco, and main center of dissemination of its propaganda apparatus.

The Rebel

June 2011 •Italian

The adventures of Guido Picelli, a man who was a leading light in the history of twentieth-century Italy and Europe. Guido Picelli fought untiringly for the affirmation of social justice and opposed every form of totalitarianism.

Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51

January 2022 •English

Jay Blades, presenter of The Repair Shop, has decided it’s finally time to learn to read. He has been told he has the reading age of an 11-year-old. Throughout his life he has found ways of avoiding the written word, and this film digs deep into how this has shaped him.

Caleta Palace

November 2023 •Spanish

Eight foreign characters recall their exploits and fears in Malaga, a paradise city that starts a revolution on July 18th 1936, as the military coup is stopped by popular rebellion, until February 9th 1937, when Mussolini troops take Malaga and put it under the rule of Franco. Seven months that shape the stark tale of a besieged city, the first capital to be conquered in Spanish Civil War and a prelude of WW2.

Guernica: El último exiliado

September 2022 •Spanish

¡Arriba España!

January 1976 •Spanish

Almas sin fronteras: La historia de la Brigada Abraham Lincoln

April 2006 •Spanish

Durruti in the Spanish Revolution

October 1998 •Spanish

A documentary about the Spanish anarchist.

La calle del Agua

November 2020 •Spanish

Benjamina Miyar Díaz (1888-1961) led an unusual life in her house on calle del Agua in Corao, Asturias, at the foot of the Picos de Europa mountain range in northern Spain: she was a photographer and watchmaker for more than forty years, but she also fought in her own humble and heroic way against General Franco's dictatorship.

Extranjeros de sí mismos

October 2000 •Spanish