Fernando Fernán Gómez (1921–2007) is considered one of the greatest and most prolific figures in Spanish cinema. Over the course of his sixty-year career he won Goya Awards as an actor, writer, and director, and in 1981 Spain’s Ministry of Culture honored him with the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts. This fall, the Meadows Museum and Dallas Film celebrate this titan of Spanish cinema by screening three of the best-known films he directed.

El mundo sigue (Life Goes On), 1963/1965

Directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez

Set in 1960s Madrid, the family drama El mundo sigue reflects the poverty and misery Spaniards suffered under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Eloísa is a selfless wife and mother who lives with her husband, a local policeman who is aggressive at home. Their son spends his days beseeching God to forgive his family’s sins, while their two daughters share a tumultuous sibling rivalry as they pursue love and social status. El mundo sigue is known as Fernán Gómez’s “cursed” film because of the obstacles it faced from censors before and after its production. Filmed in 1963, it was screened only in a single theater two years later, and fell into obscurity until its successful theatrical rerelease in 2015.

Spanish with English subtitles | 119 minutes

Spain’s ICAA rates this film 18+, but the Meadows Museum screening is intended for mature audiences only.