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El Cinema Gay en España
by Joel Dossi, April 11, 2005

When Spanish director Pedro Almódovar’s Bad Education premiered last year in his native country, protestors threw eggs and tomatoes at the film’s opening-night patrons.

Interestingly, the activists weren’t concerned about the film’s gay characters, their sexual practices or their illegal activities. Nor were they troubled with the film’s condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, the dissenters were angry over Almódovar’s political statements regarding an act of violence their country experienced a week earlier, March 11, when terrorists bombed a train in Madrid. While talking to the press, Almódovar lambasted the ruling Popular Party’s attempts to blame the separatist Basques for those attacks.

Admittedly, this incident doesn’t mean Spain’s machismo-dominated society is no longer homophobic. It does demonstrate, however, Spanish culture’s growth since la Movida, when Almódovar became the preeminent film director in the country. (Spanish for “the advancement,” la Movida represents Spain’s cultural renaissance after the death of Spanish dictator Ferdinand Franco.)

Even though a major part of Almódovar’s Bad Education is set during that time period, he insists that the film isn’t particularly about la Movida or the early ‘80s. “The thing I find most interesting about that period is the sense of endless freedom Spain lived then, as opposed to the darkness and oppression of the ‘60s,” Almódovar told the press. “The early eighties provide the ideal framework for the grown-up characters to deal with their own fates, bodies and desires.”

During Franco’s rule, homosexuality was simply not tolerated. Spain’s “Ley de Peligrosidad Social” (Law of Social Danger) was based on religious philosophy, and any behavior that contradicted Catholic doctrine was outlawed.

But two years after Franco's death, the first “gay pride” day was celebrated on June 23, 1977. One year after that, the Social Danger law was repealed, and “persecuting homosexuals” became illegal. In fact, Spain’s constitution guarantees sexual freedom on a par with religious freedom.

One result of the Spanish GLBT community’s newly found liberation is a slew of interesting and sexually infused work from filmmakers emerging from Spain’s cinematic traditions. Following in Almódovar’s footsteps are, among others, Cesc Gay, Miguel Albaladejo and female directors Daniela Fejerman and Inés París.

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