EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, together with the Embassy of Spain in the Netherlands and with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Transition with a special film

Movida: 50th Anniversary of the Spanish Transition Cinema

The EYE Filmmuseum celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Transition with a special program revisiting the cultural, social, and cinematic impact of this historic moment. Coinciding with Pedro Almodóvar’s appearance at EYE on December 7, 2025, for a conversation with Tilda Swinton, the museum presents a series of screenings and a roundtable exploring how cinema became a privileged space for artistic freedom and collective transformation.

The cycle includes four essential works: Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (1980), Matador (1986), Arrebato (1979), and the documentary Ocaña, Intermittent Portrait (1978). These films offer a vibrant and complex portrait of post-dictatorship Spain, a country where new identities, desires, and forms of expression openly broke with the dominant moral code. Cinema of the era became an experimental territory where irreverence, overflowing creativity, and a profound need for cultural reinvention coexisted.

A Roundtable Connecting Past and Present

The program includes a roundtable aimed at analyzing and fostering dialogue about counterculture and social transformations during the Transition. The discussion will address the influence of underground and experimental cinema, the visibility of sexual and gender diversity, and the process by which initially marginal cultural expressions came to occupy a central place in Spanish cultural identity. The conversation will be moderated by Carmen Dusmet Carrasco, filmmaker and teacher of Moving Image at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. She is also the co-founder and co-curator of the artist moving image platform HOME CINEMA.

Special guests: Jaime Chávarri, Samanta Hudson and Alejandro Melero

The panel features filmmaker Jaime Chávarri, an essential figure of Spanish cinema in the 1970s and 80s. With works such as El desencanto (1976), To an Unknown God (1977), and Bicycles Are for the Summer (1984), Chávarri captured the emotional and moral tensions of a Spain seeking to understand its past while opening itself to new sensibilities.

Also participating is Samanta Hudson, a 360° icon, artist, and key figure of contemporary counterculture. Emerging from the queer underground scene, she has entered mainstream circuits with catchy melodies, bold lyrics, and a sharp perspective that challenges the established order. Her presence will bridge the free spirit of the Movida with current cultural and political debates.

Joining them is Alejandro Melero, playwright, essayist and professor of Spanish cinema. He earned his PhD in Film Studies from Queen Mary, University of London, and has taught at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid since 2009. His academic research focuses on the intersections between cinema and homosexuality, with particular emphasis on cinema under Franco, during the Transition and throughout the Movida. He is the author of Placeres ocultos. Gays y lesbianas en el cine español de la Transición (Notorious, 2010), a seminal study on the representation of homosexual identities in Spanish cinema during the period. His contribution provides an essential historical and theoretical framework for understanding the political and cultural dimensions of these images.

Together, Chávarri, Hudson and Melero create a dialogue that bridges the free-spirited energy of the Movida, its cinematic legacy and today’s debates on representation, identity and dissent.

An Open Event for the Public

The roundtable provides a welcoming, accessible, and plural space for both specialized and general audiences. Organized in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Netherlands, this program is part of Eye on Art, the museum’s series exploring the intersection of cinema and contemporary artistic practices.

Curated by Adrián Capelo Pascual, a Madrid-based programmer and cultural manager who has worked at La Casa Encendida and the Cultural Department of the Spanish Embassy in the Netherlands.

More information: EYE Filmmuseum – Movida: 50th Anniversary of the Spanish Transition Cinema

Dates and Schedule

The program is organized by the Embassy of Spain in the Netherlands, in collaboration with EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam and with the support of the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory of Spain, as part of the commemorative program for the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Transition.