Spanish and Hispanic American Exile Films

Abstract

This article establishes the theoretical and conceptual framework that guides the study of the filmic forms of “Cinemas of Spanish and Spanish-American Exile,” understood as the set of films that, through their themes, focus on the experience of exile and the events that caused it, and were created by the exiles themselves. In its complexity, the subject extends to the work of exiled screenwriters who also addressed this theme, as well as to the reinterpretations made by the “second and third generations of exile” and filmmakers from host nations or countries that the exiles had to leave. Starting from the idea of cinema as a “place of thought” and a shared cultural framework, the article discusses the methodological differences between studying exile in film and literature, as well as the categories of film theory often used to analyze these cinemas. It highlights the limitations of these frameworks in addressing the phenomenon of exile within the Hispanic and Hispano-American context. This reflection serves as an introduction to the articles and sections that make up this volume, as well as to some lines of research that emerge from this work.