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Technique May Change, But Not Ethics: Javier Espada Presents Memoria de Los Olvidados at the 23rd FICM

Berenice Andrade Medina

Aragonese director and screenwriter Javier Espada presented his documentary Memoria de Los Olvidados at the 23rd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM).

This Mexican-Spanish co-production uses photographs, documents, and interviews to explore the circumstances surrounding the creation of Los olvidados, by another great Aragonese filmmaker, Luis Buñuel. It also explores the creative processes behind this masterpiece, which has been designated a Memory of the World by UNESCO.

In Memoria de Los Olvidados, the camera returns to the places where the film was shot while talking to researchers and filmmakers who were influenced by this film. Los olvidados goes far beyond Italian neorealism and gives a voice to the dispossessed, denouncing the injustice in which they exist. 

“With this film, I want to pay tribute to the Mexico that welcomed so many Spanish exiles, including Luis Buñuel,” said Javier Espada during the Q&A session after the screening.

He recalled that it was during his student years that he discovered Buñuel's movies in film clubs that screened his films clandestinely, since the filmmaker's work was censored in Spain.

Producer Izrael Moreno spoke about the political importance of this film: “Buñuel's gaze certainly was objective and certainly was Mexican. Starting with Los olvidados, he showed things that were not on the public agenda, on the political agenda [...] those of us who make films and are not sold out must continue to resist.”

When asked how young Mexican filmmakers should approach cinema, Javier Espada answered: "You have to tell stories from your own perspective, from what you know, live, and think. You have to do it with your head, your heart, and, if you ask me, with your guts. Stories that are ours and that we make, pardon my French, with balls. And I think what happens with young filmmakers is that they imitate other models. Mexico has enormous technical talent, but, as Buñuel said, technique may change, but not ethics, or the commitment to be true to oneself."