When anarchists took over Hollywood—Madrid edition. No bosses, no studio execs, just pure cinema chaos.
Upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, the anarchist union CNT socialized the film industry in Spain, so in Madrid and Barcelona film workers took over the production assets and, between 1936 and 1938, numerous films on a wide variety of topics were released, composing a varied mosaic that gives rise to one of the most unusual and original moments of Spanish cinematography.
Direction
Archival resurrection—finding ghosts in deteriorated nitrate.
Writing
Narration treats anarchist bureaucracy as thrilling drama.
Director
Verónica Vigil
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Most of these anarchist-produced films were destroyed or buried during Francoist censorship; this documentary essentially reconstructs a murdered film culture from reviews, stills, and oral history.
The CNT's film collective included future blacklist victims who fled to Mexico—meaning Hollywood's 'red scare' indirectly preserved some of this anarchist cinema in exile archives.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
ES
