De gevangenen van Buñuel

In 1932, the Spanish cineast Luis Buñuel shot his only documentary Las Hurdes, tierra sin pan (Land Without Bread). This shocking film is about Las Hurdes, a poverty-stricken region in Western Spain. Hell on earth, according to Buñuel, were disease is rife, inhabited by dwarves and morons, and without bread. This film was banned by Franco for many years and still evokes irritation among the locals of Las Hurdes, because Buñuel is alleged to have staged some of the gruesome shots. In 1999 filmmaker Ramón Gieling went to Las Hurdes, in search of the myth of poverty. In search of the black legend. He spent three weeks evoking reactions from the inhabitants, young and old, he went back to the places where Buñuel's film was shot and eventually screened Las Hurdes, tierra sin pan on the church square. The documentary was made to mark the 100th anniversary of Buñuel's birth.