THE SOUTH

VICTOR ERICE: THE POETRY OF LIGHT

Spanish filmmaker Víctor Erice is one of the rare cases where a short filmography is already enough to form a monumental body of work. With only three motion pictures in a more than four-decade-long career, Erice made films venturing from the philosophic to the spiritual, with characters rooted in their determined time periods, spaces and historic events, in which the lyricism and the light compositions in his shots give context to his personal, delicate and fable like films.

Born in Carranza, in 1940, Erice spent his childhood in San Sebastián. He studied film in Madrid, where he began working as a screenwriter. As a film critic, he wrote for the publications Cuadernos de Arte y pensamiento and Nuestro cine. In the 60s, he begins directing short and medium-length films, such as Páginas de un diario (1962), Los días perdidos (1963) and Entre vías (1966).

His feature film debut was The Spirit of the Beehive (El Espíritu de la Colmena, 1973), originally conceived as a horror film but turned into a more personal work, more distant from the fantasy genre, due to production restrictions. Today, the film is considered one of the most important in the history of Spanish cinema, bringing international recognition to lead actress Ana Torrent, who was only seven years old at the time.

In 1983, Erice directed El Sur (Critics’ Prize at the 8th Mostra), his second and last narrative feature. Considered an unfinished work by the director himself, the production, originally planned as an 81-day shoot, was interrupted after 48 days.

His third and last feature film to date is Dream of Light (El sol del membrillo, 1992, 16th Mostra), a portrait of the creative process behind the painting of Spanish realist painter and sculptor Antonio López. The film, a mix of documentary and fiction, received the critics’ and jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

During the last 20 years, Erice has made short films and segments for anthology films, including Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002, 27th Mostra), 3.11 Sense of Home (2011) and Historic Centre (2012, 37th Mostra).

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA

43ª MOSTRA INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA