A Case of Split Identity? Europe and Spanish America in Recent Spanish Cinema1

Abstract

From early on the Spanish film industry has tried to take advantage of its dual strategic position vis-à-vis Europe and Spanish America. Over the years, varying ideological, political and economic circumstances have had an impact on the degree to which contacts with one or the other have been fostered. This is true, also, of the post-1975 Spanish film industry, which has found itself sometimes wavering between commitment to its newly acquired European status and its long-term links with its so-called Spanish-American ‘sister’ nations. This article examines the overlapping national and transnational patterns of the Spanish film industry over the last 15 years or so, through concentration on two particular aspects: (1) the rise in multinational co-productions involving other European as well as Spanish-American countries (e.g. through, among others, the Eurimages and Ibermedia agreements) and their potential impact on the construction of a ‘continental’ identity; (2) the growing number of films focusing on the hardships of the immigrant or the foreign other in contemporary Spain. Here I shall examine the extent to which these may be, whether intentionally or not, aligning the Spanish cinema with other European national cinemas, e.g. the British, German and French, that for years have been making space in their narratives for stories which deal with issues of migration and dislocation, racism and prejudice in developed Western Europe.