Basilio Martín Patino: Freedom and Independence

Parallel Sections
Nueve cartas a Berta (Nine Letters to Berta)
Basilio Martín Patino
Spain, 1966
35mm | 92min. | Black and White
Production: Transfisa, Ecofilms

Photography: Luis Enrique Torán
Editor: Pedro del Rey
Screenplay: Basilio Martín Patino
Music: Carmelo Bernaola
Actors: Emilio Gutiérrez Caba, Mari Carrillo, Antonio Casas, Elsa Baeza, Jose María Rese, Nicolás Perchicot
 
Sinopsis
In the 1950s, Lorenzo, a Salamanca student, has just spent a summer in England, where he discovered other ways of life and broadened his horizons, as well as meeting Berta, daughter of an exile. On his return, he finds his family, friends, girlfriend and provincial town too much and pours out his worries and frustrations in letters to Berta. A trip to Madrid again opens his eyes to other lifestyles and unleashes a personal crisis: it might not have quite taken shape yet, but everything is about to change.
 
Festivals

Concha de Plata - Festival de Cine de San Sebastián, 1966
Festival de Pesaro, 1966
Premio de la Federación de Cineclubs, 1966
Mejor Guión - Premio del Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos
Premio CIDALC, 1967