Welcome Mr. Marshall / Bienvenido Mr Marshall
Spain , 1953.

Directed by: Luis GarcĂ­a Berlanga
Script: Juan Antonio Bardem, Luis GarcĂ­a Berlanga, Miguel Mihura
Producer: Vicente Sempere
Production company: Unión Industrial Cinematográfica (UNINCI)
Cinematography: Manuel Berenguer
Editing: Pepita Orduña
Music: JesĂşs GarcĂ­a Leoz
Cast: José Isbert, Manolo Morán, Lolita Sevilla

Format: 35mm
Running time: 95'

Synopsis
'Welcome Mr. Marshall' is a comedy predicated on the Marshall Plan, which provided American financial aid to deserving European communities. When two Marshall-Plan representatives announce plans to drive through a small Spanish town on the Iberian peninsula, the mayor, in cahoots with a publicity agent, intends to make as good an impression as possible. As a result, all signs of Western culture are hidden, and the town is transformed into a picture-postcard version of Old Iberia. As the townsfolk await the arrival of the Americans, each citizen conjures up visions (mostly inaccurate) of what life might be like in the good old USA.

Awards
Cannes Film Festival 1953 International Prize, Special Mention For the screenplay
Cinema Writers Circle Awards 1954 CEC Award Best Original Story
National Syndicate of Spectacle, Spain 1954 Best Film

Directors Biography
Luis GarcĂ­a Berlanga is born in Valencia, June 1921. He is a Spanish film director and screenwriter. His debuted as a film director with 'That Happy Couple' (1951) in which he worked with Juan Antonio Bardem. Among his films stand out several unforgettable ones of Spanish film history, as 'Welcome Mr. Marshall!' or The 'Executioner'. Characteristic of his films are their sense of irony and the satires of different social and political situations. During the Franco dictatorship his ability to outwit the censorship and to carry out daring projects as Miracles on Thursdays stood out.

Location and screening schedule: BUG cinema &TD, Friday, October 23rd at 21.00