From Barcelona with Love (to Cinema)

Presence and Treatment of Barcelona in the Work of Francisco Rovira-Beleta

Abstract

The historiography of Spanish cinema during the Franco regime has always suffered from a certain centralist perspective, often focusing only on production companies, filmmakers, and films made in Madrid. However, far less attention has been paid to the rich, heterogeneous, and ever-evolving Barcelona film scene, which maintained extraordinary activity throughout the first six decades of the 20th century. Based on this premise, the purpose of this work is to trace the filmography of Barcelona filmmaker Francisco Rovira-Beleta, with particular emphasis on the relationship of his films to the city's film industry between the 1940s and 1960s, without which his work cannot be understood. We also propose to study the representation of the city of Barcelona itself in Rovira's work, analyzing which urban spaces were highlighted and with what narrative and dramatic objectives.