Los nuevos españoles (1974), by director Roberto Bodegas, the ‘Gold Film’ of this 27th edition of the Festival de Málaga, was screened this Monday, the 4th of March, at Cine Albéniz, and brought part of its cast, José Sacristán and María Luisa San José, together with the writer and poet Manuel Vilas and the director of the Filmoteca Española, Valeria Camporesi.

Los nuevos españoles tells the story of a Spanish insurance company that’s taken over by a multinational company based in the United States, whose employees will have to take training courses to adapt to the new situation and company objectives. 

A discussion moderated by Luis Alegre preceded the screening of the film, at a meeting also attended by the president of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Fernando Méndez-Leite, and the Festival’s director, Juan Antonio Vigar.

José Sacristán, a member of the cast, began the discussion by reflecting on the film and how, in that context, 'it allowed us to tell stories about the reality of what was happening' in Spain in the 1970s and in the final stages of Franco’s regime. A film of the so-called 'third way' by the producer José Luis Dibildos, who, in Sacristán’s words, 'wanted to bring together a series of very different people with ideologies far removed from his own, because he thought we would contribute a critical aspect and not revert to the conventionalism of the time'. 

The actress and cast member, María Luisa San José, recalled that her participation in the film 'was like a dream' that, at the time, 'meant making a new kind of film', which established her as an actress still in the early stages of her career.

The discussion was also attended by the director of the Filmoteca Española, Valeria Camporesi, who highlighted the film as a tool for dialogue with the end of the 70s, which saw a process of political and economic change. Los nuevos españoles allowed us to reposition ourselves, in a masterly way, within this tense content and in this situation where there was an expectation of change'. To conclude, Camporesi said: 'There’s no fear in this film, there is no fear of transformation'.

This reflection was continued by the writer Manuel Vilas, who pointed out 'the human heartbeat of the film'.  Vilas stressed that the film is an 'exceptional sociological document for anyone who wants to know what their country was like in 1974', which, through the film, reflects a Spain 'that had lived in a bubble'.