The man who weaponized Spanish cinema against fascism—and won.
A conspirator? A man with his own ideas, obstinate in making them come true? An arm-wrestler? The greatest mocker of Franco's censorship? Someone determined to change the world by putting a mirror in front of it? A schemer? The most important name in the history of Spanish cinema?.... For some, he is the prototype producer, guilty of the existence of many excellent films, discoverer of directors like Erice, Saura, Chávarri, Gutiérrez Aragón, Armendáriz, Ricardo Franco, Martínez Lázaro, Gracia Querejeta, Fernando León? For others, the cause of some of the most passionate controversies of our cinema. Elías Querejeta, a different look, a different cinema.
Direction
Méndez-Leite crafts suspense from boardroom battles.
Editing
Juxtaposition of archival footage creates delicious irony.
Production
Rare access to Querejeta's guarded personal archive.
Director
Fernando Méndez-Leite
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Querejeta's 1973 El espíritu de la colmena became the unofficial symbol of Spanish cinema's resistance to Franco—released the same year the dictator's health finally collapsed.
The documentary reveals Querejeta's secret weapon: he read every script aloud to his wife at breakfast, using her boredom as a quality detector.
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