Cristina Rodriguez Paz, director Madrid-based Oviedo is about to finish the job. A recording of ‘The light that guides us’, in which he discusses the bizarre lifestyle of Spanish lighthouse keepers.
the documentary narrates The history of lighthouses from the female perspective of lighthouse keepersthe women of the lighthouse keepers and the daughters of the lighthouse keepers. “The film revolves around light and shadow, both aesthetically and psychologically,” says the director.
Nowadays Of the twenty-six lighthouse keepers who were able to acquire ownership after 1969, only five are active throughout Spain. Until then, it was a profession for men only. The five survivors currently manage the Estaca de Bares and Prioriño Chico lighthouses in the state of La Coruña; in San Cibrao, Lugo; La Gomera in the Canary Islands; and Machichaco in Vizcaya.
“The headlights go blank after you retire,” says Cristina Rodríguez Paz.Filming of the documentary began in July 2020, and after a mandatory hiatus due to the pandemic, it plans to finish the documentary by the end of this year, with scheduled two-week shoots in Girona, Galicia, Cantabria and Cabo Peñas.
“I intend Showing and making visible women’s work, historically unknown in a male profession the sea and nature together with the wind, the lighthouse and the light are the protagonists of the film.”
“In 1992, a decree was issued to end the profession, and they had to decide between continuing to lighthouse work, losing their public officer status by becoming dependent on the Harbor Masters, or continuing as civil servants and fulfilling administrative duties. All this assumes the beginning of the breaking of the historical binomial lighthouse-lighthouse.“, sentence.
“They are people who are very connected to nature, who have chosen a life isolated from the world in order to better understand the world and provide a public service in the form of light. a clear example of adapting to change as something inherent in life, reflected in time. They all have common elements such as a love of nature and environmental sustainability. “They have experienced very significant technological changes,” he says.
The ‘light that guides us’ is not just about the lighthouses, but also built-in compass that guides each person as they follow the path of their life“.
The film is an independent film project that Cristina finances, among other resources, through the sale of drone footage of all lighthouses affiliated with the Barcelona Port Authority and contributions from other public and private organisations. The documentary will participate in many national and international festivals. and the Asturian director would love to premiere the film at the next Gijón Film Festival.
In Asturias, for now, it has the support of the Port of Avilés and is in talks with several municipalities associated with the lighthouse keepers and the Government of the Principality of Asturias.
He has already shot at the Cudillero, Candás, Llanes and Peñas lighthouses in the Gozón council in the region. In Galicia he also recorded at Punta Frouxeira (Valdoviño) and Prioriño Chico and Cabo Prior (Ferrol) in the state of La Coruña, Isla Pancha (Ribadeo) and Punta Atalaya (San Cibrao) in Lugo. Likewise, Cabo Mayor in Santoña took images of the Ajo and El Pescador lighthouses in Cantabria. In Catalonia, Cristina toured the entire coast of Girona and Barcelona, especially Cap de Creus. And in Castellón, on the Columbretes Islands.
In the Canary Islands he visited the lighthouses of La Gomera, La Palma and Tenerife, and in the Balearic Islands: Formentor, Punta Avanzada, Cabrera and Dragonera. All are historical and cultural heritage.
Cristina Rodriguez Paz got her start in the cinematographic world after studying camera and lighting at the School of Image and Sound (EIS) in La Coruña.. He then did his first internship at Madrid Film in June 1996 and made his debut as a cameraman in Pedro Almodóvar’s film ‘Carne Trémula’ in 1997.
He then attended Madrid Film and Audio-Visual School (ECAM) where he graduated as a cinematographer. He has also appeared in more than fifty national and international feature films directed by Alex de la Iglesia, Julio Medem, Icíar Bollaín, Maria Ripoll and Reed Morano.
Now he’s facing his first movie ‘The light that guides us’ as a director and producer and remembers special anecdotes from the shoot The lighthouse keeper from La Gomera had been abandoned on a sea buoy, and when he came to the lighthouse to train, the regular lighthouse keeper told him “send eggs without vacation for forty years and now they go and they go” is that of another colleague. They’re sending me a woman”.
In his movie special role María Amelia González Gerpe, lighthouse keeper of Cabo Peñas He also carried out renovation works at the Cudillero lighthouse. This woman also lived in the Candás lighthouse, owned by her husband. She still resides in the fishing village she. The Candasín lighthouse remains in public use as it currently houses the Local Bagpipe School.
“Work connects them to the world and means expressing themselves to their best. They are all very responsible. Love for a job well done and the lighthouse is a common element in all of them. The light should always be on, and if it is turned off, it should be turned on as soon as possible. The symbol of the permanent stone, the lighthouse provides a lot of safety to all sailors,” says Cristina.
In addition to the film, the Asturian director will curate an exhibition at the “Ces Voltes” Maritime Museum in Majorca, on lighthouse women who can travel through the network of Mediterranean museums, and which will feature a wide range of artists and historians. He also plans to organize a book with images from the filming of the feature film and the exhibition. Cristina Rodríguez Paz will therefore not be deprived of the light of the Spanish lighthouse keepers for her debut as a film director to bear fruit.