MADRID — Latido Films has secured international distribution rights for Isaki Lacuesta’s new documentary, “Flamenco Sketches” (titled “Jaleos” in Spanish). The film is set to screen this week at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where it will serve as the closing feature for the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section.
Lacuesta, a prominent figure in Spanish cinema, has previously won the festival’s highest honor, the Golden Shell, twice—first for “The Double Steps” and later for “Between Two Waters.”
Utilizing extensive archival material, the documentary embarks on an expansive exploration of flamenco’s history. Antonio Saura, president of Latido Films, praised the director’s unique approach. “Isaki Lacuesta is without any doubt one of Spain’s most creative and innovative directors,” Saura said. “With ‘Flamenco Sketches’ he takes us on an unrivalled road of discovery of art, perception and joy.”
Rather than following a linear historical narrative, Lacuesta structures the film to mirror the art form itself, allowing stories to collide, mutate, and fade while images and music emerge intuitively. The project traverses from flamenco’s mid-19th-century origins to the introduction of trains and standardized time, and from Thomas Edison’s early recordings of dancer Carmencita to the genre’s intersections with the artistic avant-garde.
The narrative also examines connections between flamenco and renowned figures such as Vicente Escudero, Man Ray, Francis Picabia, Joan Miró, and Marcel Duchamp. Lacuesta described the project in a 2024 interview as resembling “One Thousand and One Nights,” aiming to explain the tales inherent to flamenco.
He posed a provocative question regarding the film’s scope: “What do Edison, Hitler, Leni Riefenstahl, Tarantino and Camarón de la Isla all have in common? They all have stories that have to do with flamenco. Flamenco has always been modern and attached to modern history.”
Co-written with Pedro G. Romero and Luis Parés, the documentary investigates the paradox of preserving a spontaneous, living art form. It explores how flamenco survives through contradiction and mutation despite efforts to define what constitutes “authentic” flamenco.
The film features commentary from notable voices across music and arts, including rapper C. Tangana, dancer Rocío Molina, artist Pedro G. Romero, and French philosopher Georges Didi-Huberman. Tangana is also associated with the segment “La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés.”
Production credits belong to Tono Folguera for Lastor Media and Guillermo Cascante for Goroka Contents, with Lacuesta’s La Termita Films serving as co-producer. BTeam Pictures is handling domestic distribution in Spain, while Latido Films manages worldwide sales outside of Spain. The title pays homage to Miles Davis’s jazz composition, reflecting a spirit of contradiction similar to that found in the legendary musician’s work.
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