Alejandro Alvarado

"El caso Rocío" narrates the making, prosecution and persecution of the film "Rocío", directed by Fernando Ruiz Vergara and released in 1980, which has gone down in history as the first film judicially seized in Spain already in times of democracy and after the repeal of the film censorship in 1977. A choral story that reflects on film censorship, Andalusian culture, and the Spanish Transition.

When I was a child, I was told my grandfather Pepe had died. Later I found out that after the Spanish Civil War he had emigrated to Argentina. My grandmother never knew anything else about him. This autobiographical film is a trip against time and oblivion to uncover family secrets.

In 2016, we visited Filmoteca Española (Spanish Cinematheque) in search of information for a research project on the documentary film Rocío, which had been censored in the early 1980s. Among the materials deposited in its warehouses 260 rolls of 16mm negative film were kept. They were the outtakes from the editing, footage that was left out of the final version. The forgotten images of a banned film come to life on the screen after 40 years.

After his death, Fernando Ruiz Vergara left dozens of film sketches that he was never able to make. The Andalusian filmmaker had only directed one documentary, Rocío, heartbreaking and fascinating, cursed after its judicial censorship in the early years of democracy in Spain. Since then, his projects have remained latent in imagination and desire.

After his death, Fernando Ruiz Vergara left dozens of film sketches that he was never able to make. The Andalusian filmmaker had only directed one documentary, Rocío, heartbreaking and fascinating, cursed after its judicial censorship in the early years of democracy in Spain. Since then, his projects have remained latent in imagination and desire.