English
On the 8th of May, the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Madrid will be screening Plan Rosebud 2, a documentary by María Ruido, as part of the center´s “Thought and Debate” cycle.
Visual artist María Ruido was born in Orense, Spain in 1967. Her entrance into the art world was not the conventional one, as she had studied history – and her approach cinema, based on the idea of the construction and deconstruction of images, was shaped by these studies. Making Barcelona her adopted city, Ruido´s work as a professor at the University of Barcelona´s Department of Images led to the production of various documentary essays which explored the contextual representations of social memory, and its relation to the construction of historical narrative.
In 2006, the year of “memory,” Ruido assembled a team and started work on the documentary “El Plan Rosebus 2,” along with the support of the Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporáneo de Santiago de Compostela. That year, Spain was full of tributes to the victims of the Franco years – a topic which resurfaced due to the Memory law passed by congress in 2007 – and so it seemed that finally the lid had been lifted on the collective memory of the country after 30 years of near silence. However, Ruido wasn´t interested in making another documentary about the victims of Francoism – nor in commenting on the defeat of the Republicans; but rather in examining the general politics of memory, and the discussion that takes place during commemorations, places of memorial, and the symbols of collective memory – in order to create a critical map of memory itself.
The work places a focus on the use of memory by those in power – who, through archives, documents, and monuments, rearrange the historic into an “official history,” according to its interests, uses, and necessities.
The documentary takes a look back at some of the events in the final years of Francoism, and pacts surrounding the transition. From the political agreements taking place between Francoists and the political opposition, much of the hoped for social, political and economic transformation never arose – which led to the emergence of countercultures which attacked the leftist parties. Though the film refers directly to Galicia, it seeks to draw parallels with other political transitionary periods and pacts in Europe; particularly that between England´s Labour government and Margaret Thatcher.
María Ruido takes the name of her film from cinema classic, Orson Wells´ Citizen Kane – referring to the memory that we have never experienced, and the speculation of what our lives might have been like if we had. At the end of Wells´ film, Kane anxiously utters the word Rosebud, just as loneliness is closing in on him in the mansion which was constructed as a symbol of his own power.
For more information http://ca2m.org/es/cine-y-video/el-plan-rosebud-2
Nancy Guzman
Remembering and forgetting are part of the same thing – after forgetting something, we are always more conscious. To make sure your stay in Madrid goes smoothly, rent Madrid accommodation go along to the film viewing.
Translated by: Poppy
