Ocaña, an Intermittent Portrait
Ocaña epitomises the unstoppable wave of freedom, joy and colour that shook Catalan society after the dictator’s death.
Ocaña was a painter from Andalusia who found the artistic freedom he lacked in the South in Barcelona. Provocative, sincere, uninhibited, and charismatic, the Ramblas and the Plaza Real were the playground of his colourful, bizarre, and unstoppable performances. An attitude that, beyond himself, defines a time and a city.
Ventura Pons, a filmmaker with a prolific career recognised in festivals around the globe and a milestone for the LGBTQ+ film community, made his debut with this documentary. He manages to be so open, transparent, and invisible that the film becomes more than a documentary. A historic moment when everything was to be done and everything was possible.
If you want to know what Barcelona was like, pay a visit to this (very modern) classic. The winds of liberty arrived everywhere once the dictator’s death opened the windows, the freedom invaded the streets, the brains (and the bodies), in a celebration of joy and life. All, embodied by Ocaña, who opened his home, his life, his soul, and his heart to the filmmaker and the audience.
Javier Garcia Puerto
Ventura Pons (1945-2024) was a Catalan scriptwriter, stage and film director and producer renowned for his prolific career. Born in Barcelona, he began his artistic journey in the 1960s when he spent extensive periods of time in London. In 1978, he made his film debut with the documentary “Ocaña, an Intermittent Portrait”, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. His “Actresses” (1997) was showcased at the 1997 Stockholm International Film Festival. The 2001 “Anita no pierde el tren” garnered attention at various film festivals. “Food of Love” (2002) received the Best Music Award at the Barcelona Film Festival. Throughout his career, Pons directed 32 feature films, many of which were in Catalan, and produced an additional 30 through his production company, Els Films de la Rambla, founded in 1985. His films were regularly featured in prestigious international festivals, including the Berlinale, where he achieved five consecutive appearances and received numerous accolades. He was vice-president of the Spanish Film Academy and has been honoured with retrospectives at major institutions like London's ICA and New York's Lincoln Center.
Filmography:
(Valik/Selected): Ocaña, retrat intermittent (1978, doc), La rossa del bar (1986), Actrius (1997), Morir (o no) (2000), El gran Gato (2003, doc), Forasters (2008), El virus de la por (2015), Miss Dalí (2018)