Spanish cınema
Spanish Cinema
Spain is known all around the world for its good drama films and is today one of the biggest film producers around. The Spanish cinematography has quite a collection of good films under its belt which got many awards added next to their name throughout the years, but what you might not know is the interesting history that hides behind the cameras.
To find the roots of Spanish cinematography we have to rewind back to 5th of May 1895 when the first Spanish film exhibition took place in Barcelona. The first films were silent and short in length. Later, in 1928 the first Spanish film society was founded and Madrid was for a while the film industry center. In 1931, when films with sound were introduced, the Spanish film industry suffered and had to step up its game by adopting this new standard.
Since then the film industry kept growing, but not without obstacles along its path. Among these obstacles lies the Spanish Civil War. Films and art in general during that period of time suffered from censorship and propaganda. Foreign films were either banned or dubbed. However. The dub was not always correct on purpose and had any dialogue that was considered to be unsuitable changed or simply removed. Spanish producers had to comply with the censorship in order not to lose money. Some actors even went as far as leaving the country altogether. As a consequence of the war few Spanish films produced before 1936 still survive to this day.