The Diplomat
The Caja de las Letras of the Instituto Cervantes has housed the legacy in memoriam of the filmmaker and writer Carlos Saura (Huesca 1932 – Madrid 2023), which includes the artist’s camera, as well as an unpublished script, a ‘photosaur’ and several original drawings.
The event took place this past Monday at the institution’s headquarters in Madrid and was attended by the director of the Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero; the actress and widow of Carlos Saura, Eulàlia Ramon; the children of the film director, Anna and Antonio Saura, and the president of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, Fernando Méndez-Leite, among others.
During his speech, García Montero stated that Saura has shaped “a good part of the sentimental education” in 20th century Spanish cinema. “Saura’s teaching and international prestige are there and, when I think of him, words of understanding and dialogue come to mind,” added the director of the Instituto Cervantes.
He also recalled that music always played a leading role in Saura’s films, with special attention to flamenco, showing that this genre is “something much greater than a Spanish song.”
The content of the legacy, deposited in box number 1468 and which will be opened in 30 years, includes a ‘photosaur’, a mixture of photography and drawing characteristic of the Aragonese artist’s work. “When a photograph went wrong, my father took advantage and, so as not to throw it away, he painted a part of it,” recalled Anna Saura.
