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The Spirit of the Beehive

El espíritu de la colmena (VOSTA)
Location
Main screening room
Date
September 22nd, 2021
Duration
99 min
Cycle
Stacey Steers

This Fall, the Cinémathèque is thrilled to present the work of the American artist and filmmaker Stacey Steers. Her unique and deeply original films have been presented in multiple animation and experimental film festivals while her artworks have been showcased in prestigious galleries and museums.

The Stacey Steers cycle is divided into three parts:

  • From August 19 to October 17, the exhibition Night Reels unveils Stacey Steers’ dreams in a magical universe occupying the two floors of the Cinémathèque. The artist designed an installation that unfolds several elements of her films into precious collages and tridimensional objects. Spectacular and surreal, one moves through Night Reels as in a waking dream.
  • A Stacey Steers film retrospective, composed of five short films, will reveal the director's creative journey from Watunna (1989) to Edge of Alchemy (2017). As it plunges her heroines into surreal tales, the universe of Stacey Steers is mysterious, poetic, and deeply influenced by early Hollywood cinema as much as 19th century engravings.
  • Finally, a carte blanche will shed light on the director's sources of inspiration with five feature films chosen by the artist herself. We will rediscover stars Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford and Janet Gaynor in outstanding silent films (Griffith, Sjostrom, Murnau), as well as two more recent productions (Night of the Hunter and L’Esprit de la ruche).

We are also pleased to announce that Stacey Steers will be joining us to present her work and meet with the public from September 9 to 12.

A Spanish cinema masterpiece

The Spirit of the Beehive
Directed by
Victor Erice
Language
Original Spanish Version with English Subtitles
Actors
Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent
Origins
Spain
Year
1973
Duration
99 min
Genre
Drama
Format
35 mm
Synopsis

In 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world.

The Spirit of the Beehive
Awards

Víctor Erice

Víctor Erice Aras is a Spanish film director. He is best known for his two feature fiction films, The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made, and El Sur (1983).

Explore

+9
[L'esprit de la ruche] est incontestablement une oeuvre fortement poétique [...] Ce film est une sorte d'oasis, il possède les vertus d'un paysage reposant où l'esprit cherche à se retrouver. Les images y offrent le spectacle d'une mémoire, celle d'un passé récent qui a brisé l'Espagne.
Alain Mitjaville, 1984
About The Spirit of the Beehive
Full cast
Víctor Erice's filmography
Long métrage
Autres métrages
Scénariste
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