F.E.N.

F.E.N.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAntonio Hernández
Screenplay by
  • Antonio Hernández
  • Avelino Hernández
Starring
CinematographyTeo Escamilla
Edited byJosé Salcedo
Music byCarlos Vizziello
Production
company
Micrafilm
Distributed byArte 7
Release dates
  • October 1979 (1979-10) (Seminci)
  • 22 February 1980 (1980-02-22) (Spain)
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

F.E.N.[n. 1] is a 1979 Spanish drama film directed by Antonio Hernández. Its cast is toplined by Héctor Alterio, Joaquín Hinojosa, José Luis López Vázquez, Chema Muñoz, Luis Politti, and Laura Cepeda. The plot explores education during the Francoist dictatorship.[2]

Plot

Taking advantage of a school vacation, two former students (Octavio and Francisco) kidnap their school teachers (Alfredo, Domingo, and Jesús) to enact revenge by submitting them to the same vexations they were subject to when they were children with the complicity of a maid.[3][4] The nature of the role reversal relationship between students and teachers is not explained in the beginning of the film.[1]

Cast

Release

F.E.N. premiered at the 24th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci), running 13–21 October 1979.[6][7] It also received a screening at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival in February 1980.[8] The film was released theatrically in Madrid on 22 February 1980.[9] The theatrical release in Andalusia was sabotaged through vandalism and bomb threats by right-wing groups in cities such as Almería and Seville.[10]

Production

The film was written by Antonio Hernández in tándem with his brother Avelino.[11] Shooting locations included the Colegio Calasancio in the district of Salamanca, Madrid.[12]

Reception

Jesús Fernández Santos of El País assessed that Hernández achieves the goal of beginning his film career with a "personal style, [as well as] a tone and quality uncommon in early works".[5]

See also

Informational notes

  1. ^ After the acronym for Formación del espíritu nacional (FEN), a mandatory school subject in Francoist Spain.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Costa, Jordi; Sánchez, Elena S. (24 January 2018). F.E.N. (presentación). Historia de nuestro cine. RTVE Play.
  2. ^ Gustrán Loscos 2014, p. 230.
  3. ^ Gustrán Loscos, Carmen (2014). El franquismo en el cine español (1975-2000) [The Franco Dictatorship in Spanish Cinema (1975-2000)] (PDF). Zaragoza: Universidad de Zaragoza. pp. 230–231.
  4. ^ González Manrique, Manuel Jesús (2010). "El modelo educativo religioso en el cine español de la Transición". Revista de Antropología Experimental (10). Jaén: UJA Editorial: 160. ISSN 1578-4282.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Fernández Santos, Jesús (2 March 1980). "Hijos del miedo". El País.
  6. ^ Dios, Luis Miguel de (21 September 1979). "Un jurado popular fallará la Semana Intemacional de Cine de Valladolid". El País.
  7. ^ "Antonio Hernández, Espiga de Oro de Honor de la Seminci". Europa Press. 26 September 2019.
  8. ^ Beaumont, José F. (21 February 1980). "El cine feminista irrumpe en el Festival de Berlín". El País.
  9. ^ ""F. E. N.", una denuncia de los internados religiosos". El País. 28 February 1980.
  10. ^ "La película española "F E N.", boicoteada en Andalucía". El País. 7 August 1980.
  11. ^ Santos Guerra, MIguel Ángel (2008). La pedagogía contra Frankenstein. p. 43. ISBN 978-84-7827-533-5.
  12. ^ "F.E.N." Madrid Film Office. Madrid Destino Cultura Turismo y Negocio. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
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