Private Project

The hidden memory

The documentary talks, through first-person conversations, about the situation and life experience of four members of the LGBTIQ+ collective, now elderly, at the end of the Franco regime and the Spanish transition.
The film has a strong authorial component; it does not intend to add data or figures or reveal specific facts of the history of Spain, but rather focuses on the emotional experiences of two elderly men and two elderly women, who lived in a context of police criminalization, of family exclusion, of social marginalization, and of labor and health discrimination, with underlying problems such as prostitution and AIDS.
The director, José Luis Pecharromán, is present in the documentary as an interlocutor of one of the participants, and also signifies himself as a member of the LGBTIQ+ community.
The documentary has obtained a Special Mention from the Jury and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 27th Lesgaicinemad (International LGBTIQ+ Festival in Madrid 2022).

  • José Luis Pecharromán Rubio
    Director
  • José Luis Pecharromán Rubio
    Writer
  • José Luis Pecharromán Rubio
    Producer
  • Jorge Alonso Parra
    Producer
  • Antonio Ruiz Fernández
    Key Cast
  • Montserrat González Montenegro
    Key Cast
  • Antonio Sánchez Franco
    Key Cast
  • Rosa Araúzo Quintero
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    La memoria escondida
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 31 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 27, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Spain
  • Country of Filming:
    Spain
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Madrid LGBTIQ+ International Fim Festival (Lesgaicinemad)
    Madrid
    Spain
    November 12, 2022
    Spain
    Special Mention of the Jury and Audience Award for Best Documentary
Distribution Information
  • Begin Again
    Distributor
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - José Luis Pecharromán Rubio

José Luis Pecharromán, (Madrid, 1970). I studied Cinematography at ECAM (Film School of the Community of Madrid), entering the first promotion in 1995. Previously, I graduated from the Faculty of Information Sciences (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), stage in which, in parallel, I completed my audiovisual training in different public and private centers of recognized prestige: Official Institute of RTVE, TAI and CES.
Since 1997, after my time at ECAM, I began working as a Director of Photography for the most important production companies and in all production formats, being the visual creator of emblematic series such as «Herederos» and «La Otra Mirada» for TVE, or “Mar de Plástico” for Atresmedia, fiction series for which I have been widely recognized among the public, the industry and the profession. Other series are «Unauthorized Living» for Mediaset and Netflix, «Promesas de Arena» for TVE, «Hernán» for Amazon Prime Video or «Los Hombres de Paco» for Atresplayer.
In 2017 I became an active member of the AEC (Spanish Society of Cinematographers).
Among the projects yet to be released as Director of Photography, it is worth mentioning the series «Los Pacientes del Doctor García«, an adaptation of the homonymous book by Almudena Grandes, produced by Diagonal Televisió and Dea Planeta for TVE and Netflix. The feature film “Camino de la Suerte”, produced by Lyo Media and Versus Entertainment, directed by Jorge Alonso and starring Tito Valverde. And also the documentary «The Hidden Memory«, in which, in addition to being Cinematographer, I have also been Director, Producer and Screenwriter, and which is currently on the festival circuit.

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Director Statement

"The hidden memory" (2022), my first work as a Director, has not been in any way different from my experience as a Director of Photography, through my gaze I have placed the camera without artifice, in a direct, clean way, and I have let things happen by themselves, that the characters breathe, that the spaces speak, that the atmosphere submerges us and that the silences are heard.
The documentary has obtained a Special Mention from the Jury and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 27th Lesgaicinemad (International LGBTIQ+ Festival in Madrid 2022).