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The Visit and A Secret Garden

View on the Pragda STREAM site

This recent, award-winning portrait of elderly, forgotten Spanish painter Isabel Santaló astutely reflects on memory, oblivion, and the creative process while posing the question of what it means to be both an artist and a woman. Santaló, whose abstract work was well regarded during the 1960s, is also the filmmaker’s aunt. Their strained relationship brings with it an examination of ethical documentary film creation. For all those with a relative who has chosen their own path in life, away from the norm or the expected, The Visit and a Secret Garden offers both insight and grace.

Through her niece's visits and the voice of artist Antonio López ("The Quince Tree Sun", Víctor Erice), the only painter who remembers her, we shape a multifaceted portrait film that takes a surprising turn.

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