Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Santiago Fouz-Hernández, "The Films of Bigas Luna" (Manchester UP, 2025)

Host: Fiona Noble

Guest: Prof. Santiago Fouz-Hernández

Date: February 20, 2026

[Episode Overview]

This episode features a deep-dive conversation between Fiona Noble and Professor Santiago Fouz-Hernández on his recently published monograph The Films of Bigas Luna (Manchester University Press). The discussion spans Fouz-Hernández’s personal and academic journey with Bigas Luna’s work, his research and writing process, the thematic and structural underpinnings of the book, and how Bigas Luna’s cinema engages with questions of gender, national identity, sensuality, technology, and more. The episode is rich with reflection, theoretical insight, personal anecdotes, and notable analysis of Spanish cinema.

[Key Discussion Points and Insights]

1. Origins and Motivation for the Project

• Personal Discovery: Fouz-Hernández shares how he first encountered Bigas Luna's Bilbao as a pre-teen during late-night Spanish television, developing a long-lasting fascination (03:26).
• Luna’s films were among those formerly censored during the Franco era, which added a sense of transgression and curiosity.
• Academic Trajectory: Initially advised not to focus an entire PhD on Luna, Fouz-Hernández instead wrote on masculinities in European cinema, with Bigas Luna as just a case study. He returned to focus on Luna later in his career (03:26–07:38).
• Long Engagement: The book was years in the making, shaped by Luna's death (2013), years of retrospectives, tribute screenings, and his own podcast with Carolina Sanabria. Personal relationships with Luna’s daughter and colleagues also influenced the project’s direction (07:39).

2. Research Process and Methodology

• Holistic Approach: Fouz-Hernández emphasizes methodical viewing (often multiple times and in various projection contexts), archival research (screenplays, interviews, reviews), and comparative reading (existing literature in Catalan, French, Italian, Spanish) (09:02–13:18).
• Archival Work: Included reviewing film screenplays and adaptations, accessing materials via national and film libraries, and working closely with Luna’s family.
• Critical Engagement: Established criteria to counteract prior superficial criticism—particularly regarding Luna’s use of sexuality and national stereotypes—and aimed for a comprehensive, in-depth engagement (09:02).

3. Book Structure: Dualities, Trilogies, and Thematic Groups

• Thematic & Chronological Blending: Unlike previous edited volumes, Fouz-Hernández groups films into thematic units reflecting Luna’s own tendency toward dualities and trilogies, which straddle periods like the "Iberian Portraits" trilogy (Jamón, Jamón, Golden Balls, The Tit and the Moon) and the so-called "Mediterranean trilogy" (Bámbola, Chambermaid on the Titanic, Volaverunt) (14:26–22:09).
• Self-Referentiality: Luna’s films, Fouz-Hernández argues, reference each other recurrently, enabling cross-referencing analysis and a non-linear but interconnected book structure.
• Structural Logic: The structure tracks bodily discourses (from violence to eroticism), national identity, gender, and the evolving representation of women and stardom in Luna's career.

4. The ‘Joy of Life’ and Bigas Luna’s Philosophy

• The book’s epigraph comes directly from Bigas Luna: “So what is the main contribution of my cinema? The joy of life.” (22:59).
• Fouz-Hernández chose this quote as he found it summarized both Luna's personal ethos and his films’ hedonistic, optimistic philosophy—even when engaging with darker or controversial material. During the book’s long gestation, this message became personally grounding amidst broader sociopolitical turbulence and personal loss (22:59–26:57).

5. Representation of Female Bodies and Gender Critique

• Context of Misunderstanding: Luna was frequently queried about his “fixation” on the female body; yet, Fouz-Hernández argues this is less objectification and more celebration, with his creative process deeply involving women (writers, casting directors, collaborators) (27:57).
• Complex gaze: Although undeniably a heterosexual male perspective, the films also offer space for queer readings and celebrate male bodies, highlighting, for example, homoerotic scenes (e.g., Bámbola, Chambermaid on the Titanic) and underlying a broader representation of gender and sexuality (27:57–33:56).
• Symbolism: The female body in Luna's cinema is tied to broader metaphysics—the vagina as origin and eye, breastfeeding and maternal milk as creative motifs—marrying sexual, nurturing, and existential symbolism.

6. Theoretical Approaches and Interdisciplinary Analysis

• Technological vs. Organic: Luna, a former designer and artist, obsessively merged mechanical/technological motifs with the carnal: photography, processed food vs. organic food, billboards, and corporeality (Bilbao, Reborn, Caniche) (35:23–39:50).
• High and Popular Culture: Luna fuses classical art, literature, myths with popular culture and mass media (e.g., Goya vis-à-vis Warhol, pop and classical music, painting and cinema).
• Meta-cinema & Gaze: Recurring focus on spectatorship, films-within-films, and the act of watching (Anguish, Chambermaid on the Titanic, Didi Hollywood), alongside haptic, sensory engagement—drawing viewers in but also breaking the fourth wall (40:22–44:24).

7. Food, Gastronomy, and National Identity

• Centrality of Eating: Food as both physical pleasure and national metaphor—signature foods in different films (ham, paella, pizza, breast milk) (45:31).
• Ecological Reflection: Fouz-Hernández notes Luna’s early and ongoing concern with animal rights, ecology, and the violence inherent in meat-eating, filtering through even his most surface-level “sensual” films (46:00–50:45).
• Cultural Critique: Films such as Lola contrast French and Spanish cuisines, aligning culinary choices with broader reflections on identity and post-Franco Spanish culture.

8. Personal Reflections on Book Writing

• Favorite Chapter?: Chapter 1 (the early films) holds a special place for Fouz-Hernández, both for personal nostalgia and for demonstrating how Luna’s cinema tracks alongside shifts in Spanish society and politics (51:14–56:42).
• Most Challenging Chapter?: Chapter 4, due to personal loss (the passing of his mother) and the complex research required on multiple adapted films. Nevertheless, this challenge also brought a sense of accomplishment and depth (56:52–59:14).

9. Intended Audience and Impact

• Scholarly Audience: Primarily academics, students, and researchers of Spanish cinema. The book is accessible as well as thorough; individual chapters can be read in isolation (59:14–62:50).
• Wider Outreach: Supported by ongoing podcast and Luna Tribute screenings, aiming to renew interest in Luna’s broader filmography (including rarer early works) and to encourage exploration across international audiences.

10. Integration with Tribute Series and Podcast

• The ongoing Bigas Luna Tribute and podcast (with Carolina Sanabria) enrich and underpin the book, offering technical insights and first-hand interviews with collaborators. These in turn feed back into scholarly interpretation and outreach, reaching beyond academia (62:50–66:41).

11. Future Projects

• Fouz-Hernández plans to continue Bigas Luna-related activities (podcast, events, potential translations, and video essays).
• Upcoming book project: Second Skins, a co-written follow-up focusing on male bodies and crisis in contemporary Spanish cinema (67:01–70:26).

[Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments]

• On Bigas Luna’s Philosophy:

  “So what is the main contribution of my cinema? The joy of life.” — Bigas Luna, cited by Fouz-Hernández (22:59)

• On Personal Motivation:

  “It was also pleasure. You know, it's a pleasure to watch the films, to share with people, to think about them, to write about them, and in a way to switch off from the realities, you know, which sometimes can be so hard...” — Prof. Santiago Fouz-Hernández (25:30)

• On Research Rigour:

  “There are 16 of them. So that's in itself quite a bit of work to familiarize yourself with all of them. But it would have been quite, quite easy, if you like, or a lot easier than it was to just get the films... I decided...there is an opportunity here to really do an in depth study.” — Fouz-Hernández (09:02)

• On the Female Body:

  “Bigas Luna surrounded himself by women, his casting director of every film is a woman... Kuka Canals, who wrote with him five of the films, including the full Iberian Portraits trilogy...” (28:15)

• On Food as Cinematic Material:

  “One of the biggest compliments that anyone ever gave him was... at the Venice Film Festival when they presented Jamón Jamón. And somebody from the press said, ‘your film could be eaten’.” (47:00)

• On the Book’s Audience:

  "My aim with this book is not to have a last word or to be the definitive study... but my point really is to open new conversations and to inspire younger people to think about these films..." (60:46)

[Important Timestamps for Key Sections]

• Origins of the Project: 03:26–07:38
• Research Process & Methodology: 09:02–13:18
• Book Structure & Thematic Organization: 14:26–22:09
• ‘Joy of Life’ Philosophy and Citation: 22:59–26:57
• Female Body & Gender: 27:57–33:56
• Theoretical & Aesthetic Approaches: 35:23–39:50
• Cinematic Gaze / Meta-cinema: 40:22–44:24
• Food, Gastronomy, National Identity: 45:31–50:45
• Personal Reflections, Favorite Chapters: 51:14–56:42
• Audience & Impact: 59:14–62:50
• Role of Podcast and Tribute Series: 62:50–66:41
• Future Projects: 67:01–70:26

[Conclusion]

This episode offers an extensive, passionate, and erudite guide to Bigas Luna’s cinema through the lens of Fouz-Hernández’s new monograph. The discussion is valuable for anyone interested in Spanish film, contemporary cinema, gender studies, and the intersections of art, technology, and the joys of life. The episode stands as both an invitation to deeper scholarship and an accessible gateway to a unique and influential filmmaker.

Discount Mentioned:

• Get The Films of Bigas Luna from Manchester University Press with code EVENT30 for a discount on the hardback, or wait for the paperback release (70:56).