A view from memory and migration in the documentary Flores de Luna (Juan Vicente Córdoba, 2008)

Daniel David Muñoz (UC3M)

This video essay analyzes Flores de Luna (2008), first feature length documentary written and directed by Juan Vicente Córdoba. It is an audiovisual work that deals with the memory and the present of El Pozo del tío Raimundo, a working-class neighbor in Madrid’s periphery. It approaches these subjects analyzing the construction of collective memory, the emigration problem and how the very processes of audiovisual creation work.

This 120-minute documentary was produced by TVE and Atalanta. It was exhibited in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, in November 2008. It was also showcased in several festivals such as San Sebastián, New York, Manchester and Goteborg, among others. In addition, it won awards at Turia and Jaen’s Festivals as well as the Luis Buñuel award for best cinematography.

Those who occupied the land, constructed the shantytown and fought for worthy housing tell the part of the film that deals with the construction of collective memory. This fight is understood as a tool for achieving progress and transformation. In contrast, the new generations tell us about the present in el Pozo del Tio Raimundo. They are the grandsons and granddaughters of those who created this shantytown, today a neighborhood in the outskirts of Madrid. These young generations tell the camera that they feel threatened by immigrants, because foreigners challenge their identity; consequently, these newly arrived individuals pose a threat to their wellbeing.

In regard to the audiovisual aesthetics at work, the coral portrait of those who took part in the past and the present of el Pozo del tío Raimundo articulates the narration. The image of the past has a more static character, using mainly interviews and archival material; conversely, the present is depicted through observational procedures. These techniques allow subjects to greatly improvise and give audiences the possibility of having a closer experience to everyday reality.