The documentary, directed by Patricia Roda, reveals the story of Francisco Martínez Gascón through the dissertation that his granddaughter carried out on his figure
A chance meeting in Zaragoza, two friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time and a sentence, “what are you up to?”. That is the cocktail from which ‘Kautela, the photographer’ arose. The question was posed in 2016 by the director of this documentary, Patricia Roda, to Cristina Martínez, who was a few days away from defending her thesis at the time. His work focused on the figure of his grandfather, the photographer Francisco Martínez Gascón -Kautela-, an investigation born in a forgotten suitcase, which after that innocent question became a feature film.
“When my grandmother died, we found a briefcase with newspaper clippings and many photos in her house. They belonged to my grandfather, who was a photojournalist,” explains Martínez. The find went home, where it remained until Kautela’s granddaughter decided to enroll in a doctoral course – in a library and documentation plan – with the aim of collecting all the documents found. “The person who delivered the course told me that the finding was the subject of a dissertation and eventually became the director of the study,” she recalls. Months later, on the day of the defense, recording began “When I met Patricia and told her the topic of my dissertation, she decided to go with her camera. We didn’t know where this was going to take us,” he says. But the director had a brighter future “From the first moment I knew it was a story that needed to be told,” Roda replies.
That is why the thesis is the most important core of the documentary, the script. The history of Kautela is based on it, with two thousand cataloged and described photos that traverse the private and professional life of the photographer, who took snapshots of the civil war on the national side. “When we talk about this historical period, we always find pictures of the Republican side. This work allows us to get to know the war from a different point of view,” explains Martínez. This translates into a large amount of unpublished material that has remained unpublished despite Kautela’s profession. After his retirement, the camera continued with him, now in private, with a special focus on the bullfights. “His images, both professional and family, are of high quality and deserved to be seen,” says the director.
But not all the material is in the documentary. “I still have a lot to order at home,” confesses Martínez. In the one he has cataloged, some unpublished negatives stand out showing General Yagüe’s entry into Barcelona after the rebels’ victory. “They are the jewel in the crown. The most valuable”, specifies. It is this reel that connects Kautela with the most renowned photographer of the Spanish Civil War, Robert Capa. «My grandfather photographed those who entered the city and Capa photographed those who left. They also coincided in Teruel, each on one side,” he explains.
The briefcase that remained hidden for so many years gave way to other memories that shaped the history of Kautela, a nickname by which Francisco Martínez Gascón was known for his prudence in life’s situations. Patricia Roda and Cristina Martínez did their part to uncover this story. Now the photographer’s granddaughter is thinking of her nieces to follow the work.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
