A series of films to celebrate the centenary year of Luis García Berlanga (1921-2010), arguably one of the greatest Spanish film directors of his time and an arch-satirist of Spanish society. Remarkably, much of his best and most cutting work were made under the scrutiny of a censorious dictatorship. The online film series revisits four ground-breaking films that played a significant role in his career and evolution as a filmmaker. Organised in collaboration with Cervantes Institute, New Delhi; Filmoteca de la AECID, ICAA; Filmoteca Española, AC/E; and Academia del Cine, Spain.

The films can be viewed every Friday night of June 2021 on the Instituto Cervantes Vimeo channel, for a duration of 48 hours.

That Happy Couple (Esa pareja feliz/Spain)
[83 min; 1951; b/w; Spanish with English subtitles]
Direction: Juan Antonio Bardem & Luis García Berlanga  

Recipient of “Jimeno” Revelation Award, Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain 1952

The first feature by Juan Antonio Bardem and Luis García Berlanga, this comedy — highly influenced by Italian neorealism — is a tender and funny story about a young couple who seek to improve their quality of life. A brilliant satire on Spanish values and propaganda of the early fifties was the only film co-directed by Bardem and Berlanga.