The documentary about Juan Mariné has an emotional debut in Madrid

 Cine & Tele

The Renoir Princesa Cinemas in Madrid hosted yesterday the debut of the documentary Juan Mariné. A Century of Cinema by María Luisa Pujol. In a packed room, and in front of friends and professionals from the sector, the 86 minutes of this documentary about this key figure of Spanish cinema both in his facet as director of photography and as a film researcher and restorer could be seen. The screening took place on the same day that it was announced that the production had been nominated for Best Documentary at the Forqué Awards.

[Family photo with part of the team that has made 'Juan Mariné. A Century of Cinema']

On the verge of his 103rd birthday, Juan Mariné is a legend of our cinema. In addition to having photographed 140 films, his passion for cinema has also led him to work in technical research and film restoration.

[Jorge S. Bonet, president of the Foundation. The Fundación Aula de Cine Colección Josep M. Queraltó, and the screenwriter and director María Luisa Pujol, at the preview.]

His life is like a movie or, as Tote Trenas says in the documentary, "a series and a long one". Mariné lived through essential historical events in Spain, which are included as context in the documentary: the establishment of the Republic, the Spanish Civil War, the Franco dictatorship, the democratic transition and recently the health pandemic. But his real adventures have been made up of films, avoiding all kinds of situations and interacting with the most outstanding directors, actors and technicians of several decades.

[The editor of Cineinforme, Antonio Carballo (right), with Juan Mariné and María Luisa Pujol.]

'Juan Mariné. A Century of Cinema' is a review of his life and also a tribute to the History of Spanish Cinema. Produced by the Fundación Aula de Cine Colección Josep M. Queraltó and Enrique Cerezo P. C., it is written and directed by María Luisa Pujol, who has been a correspondent for Cine&Tele in Barcelona for decades.

Among the numerous films he photographed, there are essential titles of our cinema such as The Sanctuary Does Not Surrender, The Coplas Fisherman, Pride, The Cat, The Great Family, Television Stories, The City Is Not for Me, A Million in the Garbage or The Boys of the Preu, among many others.

[Juan Mariné with Antonio Martos, another legend of our industry and who worked for more than 20 years at Kodak, becoming general manager.]

In a few months, Juan Mariné will receive the 2024 Honorary Goya. A very unique fact, since it is very unusual for the Film Academy to recognize professionals who are not actors or directors with this award, which shows the extent to which he is admired and loved by the film industry in Spain.

Cine&Tele did not want to miss yesterday's Madrid preview at the Renoir Princess. The film will be released commercially from the end of November at the Filmax Gran Via cinemas in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona).

The announcement, also yesterday, of the nominations for the José María Forqué Awards will help the launch of the film, as it got a nomination in the category of Best Documentary Feature Film. Juan Mariné. A Century of Cinema fought with another 90 films and achieved one of the nominations, along with The Padilla Case (Pavel Giroud), Iberia, Infinite Nature (Arturo Menor Campillo) and Samsara (Lois Patiño).