Film series: «Other regions of the world» and «Volverás a Región».»

Past event

Fiction and documentary films have often dealt with the subject of the regulation of river flow through the construction of reservoirs and dams in all parts of the world. As an extension of the contents of the exhibition REGION (The stories). Landscape change and water policies This cycle of six films aims to delve into the feelings that these major transformations of the territory have provoked.

The programme is divided into two parts. The first part, «Other regions of the world», aims to universalise and at the same time enrich the reading of these events with the peculiarities of each place, putting in dialogue the disappearance of Matiora under water in the former Soviet Union with what happened in the Chinese Three Gorges Dam or in Tennessee, USA.

The second part of the cycle, entitled «Volverás a Región«, presents how the beauty of the disappeared landscapes in the Leonese region has been included in some films and in popular memory.

All the films will be screened both at the MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, and at the Cine Mary (Cistierna, León).

Programme:

MUSAC (León) Assembly hall.
Time: 20:00 h. Free activity

Cycle «Other regions of the world».»
Friday, 23 February: Farewell to Matiora (1983) by Elem Klimov
Saturday, 24 February: Still life (2006), by JiaZhangke
Sunday, 25 February: Wild river (1960) by Elia Kazan

Volverás a Región« Cycle»
Friday, 2 March: Pride (1955), by Manuel Mur Oti
Saturday, 3 March: Wolf Moon (1987), by Julio Sánchez Valdés
Sunday, 4 March: My valley (2016), by Lores Espinosa and Mario Santos

MARY'S CINEMA (Cistierna)
Time: 20:00 h. | Price: 2 euros

Cycle «Other regions of the world».»
Friday 6 April: When the river rises (1984) by Mark Rydel
Friday, 13 April: Still life (2006) by Jia Zhangke
Friday, 20 April: Wild River (1960), by Elia Kazan

Volverás a Región« Cycle»
Friday, 27 April: Pride (1955), by Manuel Mur Oti
Friday, 4 May: Wolf Moon (1987), by Julio Sánchez Valdés
Friday, 11 May: My valley (2016), by Lores Espinosa and Mario Santos

Address: Travesía de la Unión, 23, 24800, Cistierna, León

When the River Rises (1984), by Mark Rydel (122’’)
The local authorities have a tasty plan for Tom and Mae Garvey. They will pay them a large sum of money and, in return, the couple must sell them their farm, after years of living there, so that they can flood the land bordering the river. John Wade is the man who will negotiate with them and, also, an old lover of Mae. When the Garvey's refuse to give up their property and accept the compensation they are offered, the tension explodes. The river is rising and the banks, when the flow is strong, can be a very dangerous place. Screenplay: Julian Barry and Robert Dillon; Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond; Music: John Williams

Farewell to Matiora (1983) by Elem Klimov (126″)

Matiora is an island in central Russia, in the middle of a large river, which will be flooded to facilitate the construction of a reservoir. This is the story of its inhabitants, who have to say goodbye to their home.
Script: German Klimov, Larisa Shepitko, Rudolf Tyurin (Novel: Valentin Rasputin); Music: Vyacheslav Artyomov, Alfred Shnitke; Photography: Vladimir Chukhnov, Aleksei Rodionov, Yuri Skhirtladze, Sergei Taraskin; Cast: Stefaniya Stanyuta, Lev Durov, Aleksei Petrenko, Leonid Kryuk, Vadim Yakovenko, Yuri Katin-Yartsev, Denis Lupov.

Still life (2006), by Jia Zhangke (108″)

The film is set in the county town of Fengjie, one of the towns affected by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The town, now covered by water, is followed by the demolition of the existing buildings. Han Sanming is a miner who travels to Fengjie in search of his ex-wife and daughter, whom he has not seen for 16 years after they were separated by the police. In the ruined city he finds a strange shelter. In parallel, the film introduces us to Shen Hong, a nurse who travels to Fengjie in search of her husband, who has not returned home for two years and runs a demolition company. Motivated by a series of memories, the intention of the reunion is not to return to her husband, but to settle a deep conflict.
Script: Jia Zhang Ke, Na Guan, Jiamin Sun; Music: Giong Lim; Cinematography: Nelson Yu Lik-Wai; Cast: Tao Zhao, Sanming Han, Zhou Lan, Lizhen Ma, Hongwei Wang, Bin Li, Jianlin Pan, Ping Liu.

Wild river (1960), by Elia Kazan (109″)

America, 1930s. Chuck Glover (Montgomery Clift) is an agent of the Tennessee Valley Organization, in charge of expropriating the riverside lands, whose inhabitants frequently suffer the devastating floods of the river. The goal is not only to prevent catastrophes, but also to build a hydroelectric dam to ensure the region's progress. But this project requires the demolition of the houses of a small village and the evacuation of its inhabitants. And the most difficult case to solve is that of an 80-year-old woman (Jo Van Fleet), who resists with all her might to leave the home of her ancestors. Meanwhile Chuck falls in love with the old woman's granddaughter, the beautiful Carol (Lee Remick).
Screenplay: Paul Osborn; Music: Kenyon Hopkins; Cinematography: Ellsworth J. Fredricks; Cast: Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo van Fleet, Albert Salmi, Jay C. Flippen, James Westerfield, Bruce Dern, Barbara Loden

Pride (1955), by Manuel Mur Oti (110″)

The story of two families, the Mendozas and the Alzagas, who have been at loggerheads for generations over the water of a river that separates their estates. After several years in Paris, Laura Mendoza returns home and falls in love with Enrique de Alzaga. When they are about to get married, the problem of the drought resurfaces, which rekindles old grudges and causes the war between the two families to break out again. Filmed in Riaño.
Script: Jaime García Herranz and Manuel Mur Oti; Music: Salvador Ruiz de Luna; Photography: Juan Mariné; Cast: Marisa Prado, Alberto Ruschel, Enrique Diosdado, Cándida Losada, Eduardo Calvo.

Wolf Moon (1987), by Julio Sánchez Valdés on the novel by Julio Llamazares (112″).

At the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), some Republican fighters continued to harass the victors with guerrilla operations. One of the areas of resistance was the mountains of León. In the district of Riaño, half a dozen maquis fought a very unequal battle against the Guardia Civil. Ramiro, Santiago and Gildo, three militiamen, are pursued by a patrol of the Guardia Civil under the command of a sergeant who is in love with the same woman as Ramiro. To get enough money to get to France, the militiamen kidnap the owner of a mine and demand 150,000 pesetas in exchange for their freedom.
Script: Julio Llamazares and Julio Sánchez Valdés; Music: Luis Mendo and Bernardo Fuster; Photography: Juan Molina; Cast: Santiago Ramos, Antonio Resines, Álvaro de Luna, Kiti Mánver, Fernando Vivanco.

My valley (2016), by Lores Espinosa and Mario Santos (73″)

A recent documentary production that analyses, from different points of view, what happened in the Riaño valley thirty years after the closure of the dam.
Nine villages in the province of León were flooded 30 years ago by the construction of a reservoir in the Riaño valley. Hundreds of people had to leave their homes forever and, even today, they are still buried under water.
Mi valle is a documentary that collects the testimonies of the protagonists of the tragedy, who struggle to keep alive the memory of what happened. Through different images and amateur videos, this project directed by Lores Espinosa and Mario Santos, which won five nominations for the Goya Awards, is constructed.
Script and direction: Lores Espinosa, Mario Santos.