In 1984, Montxo Armendáriz directed his first feature film, Tasio, produced by Elías Querejeta. A film of profound realism, omnipresent landscape and simple people, it earned a score of awards and extensive recognition and marked the beginning of contemporary quality films in Navarre.
The INAAC foundation wishes to celebrate the 25 anniversary of the filming and premiere of this work —which was shot on location in several villages of Tierra Estella— by organising various events to be held during the month of September. These include the exhibition “25 years of Tasio”, a reunion of the cast and the crew, a book to be published by the Department of Culture in co-operation with INAAC, a special offprint to be published by the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma and a website with texts and materials from the film.
The exhibition, located at the Casa de Cultura in Estella from 5 to 20 September, will display archive material from the film, including shooting pictures, the script, the story board, and working documents. This is a way of paying homage to the people that made Tasio possible. There is a space reserved for the reproduction of a collier's mound to recreate the shooting of one of the film’s best-known scenes. Visitors to the exhibition will also have the opportunity of watching a screening of Tasio and of the documentary Carboneros de Navarra about Navarre’s colliers, filmed by Armendáriz in 1981. It will also be an opportunity to remember the towns used for shooting on location and the townspeople who participated as actors and extras.
The film’s cast and crew will come together on 5 and 6 September, also in Tierra Estella. Those who have confirmed their participation include: Montxo Armendáriz, director; Elías Querejeta, producer; Gerardo Vera, art director; Alfredo Mayo, cameraman; Ángel Ilarramendi, score writer; and cast members Patxi Bisquert, Amaia Lasa, José Mari Asín and Txema Blasco. They will participate in an event at the Golem Cinemas in Estella to honour those who participated anonymously in the shooting, and a public meal in Baquedano —one of the film’s emblematic locations— accompanied by the music of La Orquestina del Valle.
A presentation of the book on the 25th anniversary of Tasio is also scheduled for September. The book consists of four parts: the final script of the film approved by Armendáriz; a facsimile of the story board drawn by Gerardo Vera; a collection of shooting pictures by José Luis López Linares; production materials; various documents, and critical reviews and reports of the time. The book will come with two DVDs, one with a re-mastered version of the film and another with the documentary Carboneros de Navarra, a debate on the film from the Spanish National TV programme Versión española and a short documentary on the film works of Montxo Armendáriz.
The INAAC Foundation has signed an agreement with the prestigious magazine Cahiers du Cinéma so that the September 2009 issue —which is distributed in the San Sebastian Film Festival— includes a special feature reflective and a critical tribute and analysis of the film Tasio. Among other subjects, the dossier will include interviews with the film’s director and members of his crew, an analysis of how the film relates to the Spanish cinema of the 1980s and other European films with anthropological roots, and a review of various features of Montxo Armendáriz’s films.
