Jorge Peña Martín

Black Freedom

Synopsis

With the death of the film’s director’s parents, when the house was dismantled, a series of documents appeared, including letters and a notebook of poems. With this, the story of Antonio García Álvarez, better known by the nickname “El Chófer”, is revealed.

Antonio, a committed anarchist, worked as a taxi driver, hence his nickname. His popularity as a political activist came from his involvement in the attack on the Falangist bullfighter “El Algabeño”, in which he helps the activists escape in his car. When the war came, he fought on the Republican side, specifically carrying a tank in Sierra Morena. Here he meets María Roa, the woman to whom he dedicates most of the writings found. After fleeing, he returns to Málaga where they expose him and the Francoist police manage to arrest him. They condemn him to Libertad Negra, the euphemism used in prison for the death penalty. While in prison, he writes his poetry books practically without rest, and without leaving a free edge in the notebook.

In his letters he leaves one last wish: to publish his writings so that María Roa, his main inspiration in prison, would know of his love. Now, the director of the film begins the search for the possible descendants of this woman so that the documents find their intended recipient.

Crew

Director, screenwriter: Jorge Peña Martín, José Enrique Sánchez

Executive production: José Enrique Sánchez

Cinematography: Antonio España

Second cinematographer: Guillermo A. Morales, Kiko Navas-Parejo and Carlos Roja

Editor: Jorge Peña Martín

Color grading: Ion López

Music: Felipe Milano

Soundtrack Recording: Estudio Artesonao

Sound technician: Miguel Olmedo

Musics: Laura Garrido Moreno, violin; Juan Cabrera Martínez, viola; Lourdes Arrabal Haro, cello; Mauricio Gómez Yamamoto, cello; Miguel Olmedo, guitar

Sound: Dionisio Castrillo, Paco Alcaide, Diego Lara, Pablo A. Contreras

Sound designer: Alex Vilches (La Fábrica de Carbón)

Graphics: Carla Molins

Graphic adaptation: Sergio Ghiara

Technical Specs

Title: Libertad Negra

Internacional Title: Black Freedom

Genre: Documentary

Estimated length: 67 minutes

Shooting format: HD

Screening format: DCP / Digital

Country of production: Spain

Original language: Spanish

Subtitles: English

Produced by: Video Sur TV

Production year: 2016

Color/BW: Color

Sound: Stereo

Filmed between July 2014 to January 2016 in Malaga and province, Alicante and province, Cartegena (Murcia), and Pozoblanco and Montoro (Córdoba).