The Film-History Research Centre recovers the filming books of the No-Do delegation in Barcelona

The recovery of these books has been possible thanks to a donation by Pilar Gabernet, widow of Blas Martí, No-Do operator. He preserved them so that they could not be lost, the same day the delegation closed, given the headquarters’ little interest in keeping them. Moreover, he also kept the plaque that was in the door of the entrance with the entity’s logo and the motto “El mundo entero alcance de todos los españoles” (the whole world within reach of all Spaniards).

These are two paperback books which have, handwritten and in good handwriting, the films submitted by the Barcelona delegation to Madrid’s headquarters, from the first to the last issue. These are more than 5,500 entries on several aspects of the Catalan society, ranging from sports to cultural, religious and industrial activities, among others. The first of them was recorded on 1 January 1943, and it is named Gran premio año nuevo, referring to a sports race; and the last one was Desfile Fuerzas Armadas, recorded on 31 May 1981.

One of the curiosities is that some of these films were not included —censored—, such as the case of the tramway strike in Barcelona, in which Barcelona operators did not dare to name the report about its content and opted for the title Detalles de Barcelona para id. (identificar), filmed on 28 March 1951. Faced with the rumour that a copy had been made to a foreign audiovisual media, the general director of No-Do —Joaquín Soriano— went to the Barcelona delegation to find out if that was true and booed the workers. Another example was the arrival of a Picasso painting on 2 October 1962 in Barcelona, given by the painter in favour of the victims of the floods in the Vallès area.

Thanks to these books, which contain footage and other details of the videos, the Filmoteca Española (Spanish cinematheque), the repository of the No-Do legacy, could recover some of these censored films.

The Noticiario Cinematográfico Español, better known as No-Do, was a weekly propaganda news bulletin of the Franco regime that was screened in Spanish cinemas before the film, between 1943 and 1981. It was a compulsory screening until 1975, the year Francisco Franco died. Currently, its entire collection can be consulted on the website of the RTVE archive. Therefore, the recovery of these two books coincides with the 80^th anniversary of the creation of No-Do.

The Film-History Research Center of the University of Barcelona, founded in 1983 by Professor Josep M. Caparrós Lera, uses films as a research tool to delve into humanism and social sciences, considering them as a witness of society, a reflection of mentalities and a portrait of the evolution of the contemporary world. He edits the journal Filmhistoria online. Precisely, the doctoral student Ricard Rosich is coordinating a monographic issue on the No-Do, with the participation of several specialists on the subject, which will be published by the end of this year.