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Bigas Luna (1946-2013) was one of Spain's most celebrated contemporary filmmakers and artists. He released seventeen feature films, with considerable success.
The Bigas Luna Tribute is a series of international homage events organised by Santiago Fouz Hernández, a Durham University Professor, and Bigas Luna's daughter, Betty Bigas, an artist and art curator based in Barcelona.
This tribute includes his most internationally known and critically-acclaimed work, known as the 'Iberian Portraits Trilogy' – including the films Jamón Jamón (1992), the film that launched the careers of the now global stars and Academy Award winners Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, Golden Balls (1993), also starring Bardem, as well as Maribel Verdú and a young Benicio del Toro in one of his first roles, and The Tit and the Moon (1994), starring Mathilda May and Miguel Poveda.
The trilogy offers a complex depiction of a Spain in transition, where older customs and stereotypes associated with the rural, simpler past survive alongside newly introduced European/global, capitalist values and it is widely considered a masterpiece of post-Franco Spanish cinema.
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| As part of the Bigas Luna Tribute at the London Spanish Film Festival, there will be a pop-up exhibition at Ciné Lumière's hall featuring the original inspiration boards for each of the films in the trilogy. These boards were created by Bigas Luna during the pre-production and production of the three films in the early 1990s and the exhibition will be inaugurated on Friday, 22nd by his daughter, Betty Bigas. |
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| As part of this Tribute and on Thursday 21st, at 6.10pm at Prince Charles Cinema Bigas Luna's Anguish, in its original English, will be screened. The film includes extraordinary performances by the late actors Zelda Rubinstein and Michael Lerner and has become a horror classic. The film will be introduced by film programmer and "Movies Are Dead" founder Paul Martinovic. |
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JAMÓN, JAMÓN
dir. Bigas Luna
with Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Jordi Mollà,
Stefania Sandrelli, Juan Diego, Anna Galiena
Spain | 1992 | col | 95 min | cert. 15
In Spanish with English subtitles
Ciné Lumière I
fri 22 sep | 6.15pm | £15, conc. £13
Followed by a Q&A with Betty Bigas, daugther of Bigas Luna, and Prof. Santiago Fouz-Hernández (Durham University)
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| Enjoy some of the best jamón ibérico and a beer after the screening.
Courtesy of: |
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A small, arid town in North-Eastern Spain lies all-but empty save for two establishments: a Samson men's briefs factory, and a brothel. Fiery and beautiful Silvia becomes pregnant to José Luis, whose family owns the Samson factory. Silvia's father is long gone and her mother Carmen runs the town's brothel. José Luis' greedy and socially ambitious mother Conchita fears her son will marry the daughter of a prostitute and hires sexy, young Raúl, to seduce Silvia. Featuring debut performance by Cruz and Bardem's first leading role. The film won the Silver Lion at Venice Film Festival in 1992. |
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HUEVOS DE ORO
Golden Balls
dir. Bigas Luna
with Javier Bardem, Maria de Medeiros, Maribel Verdú, Benicio del Toro, Alessandro Gassmann
Spain/Italy/France | 1993 | col | 95 min | cert. 15
In Spanish with English subtitles
Ciné Lumière I
Sat 23 Sep | 4.30pm | £15, conc. £13
Preceded by an introduction by Dr. Matt Hilborn
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Benito González is a macho contractor in Benidorm who dreams of erecting the tallest skyscraper in the region. He marries Marta, the educated daughter of a banker, while keeping his ex, model Claudia on the side. But can his force of personality compensate for his poor business sense? Golden Balls is a provocative dip into the playful dynamics of sexual power play. Bigas Luna mixes admiration for this full-blooded fool with a rueful warning about the dangers of machismo. The film won the Special Award of the Jury at the San Sebastián Film Festival in 1993. |
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LA TETA Y LA LUNA
The Tit and the Moon
dir. Bigas Luna
with Biel Duran, Mathilda May, Gérard Darmon,
Abel Folk, Laura Mañá
Spain/France | 1994 | col | 90 min | cert. 15
In Spanish with English subtitles
Ciné Lumière I
sun 24 Sep | 2.15pm | £15, conc. £13
Introduced by Prof. Santiago Fouz-Hernández
(Durham University) and actress Montserrat Roig the Puig
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Nine-year-old Tete feels left out of things after the birth of his baby brother. He looks on in envy as his brother drinks from his mother's breast. Confused, he prays to the moon to bring him a breast all of his own. His dream seems to have come true when a circus rolls into town and he catches sight of Estrellita, a beautiful French dancer. But he will have to compete for her affections with her jealous husband Maurice and his flamenco singing friend Miguel. With this amount of competition, will Tete's wish be fulfilled? The film won de Best Screenplay Award at Venice Film Festival in 1994. |
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