This guide to Spanish film documents the film industry's interpretation of the isolating effects of the cultural traditionalism of the early-20th century to the expanding international popularity of such films as Trueba's "Belle Epoque", "Aranda's Amantes", and Biga Luna's "Jamon, Jamon", and such actors as Victoria Abril, Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas. This is the first volume in the Greenwood series that discusses, historically and critically, films, directors, and actors in film industries throughout the world. An end-of-entry bibliography provides sources for further reading and appendixes provide additional useful information. Spanish cinema is in many ways a microcosm of the tensions and conflicts that have shaped the evolution of the nation over the course of this century. Spanish film as a cultural institution is rarely divorced from the political and social currents that have shaped the larger Spanish culture torn as it was between tendancies of localism and internationalism. It languished in industrial and artistic underdevelopment for many years under Franco; it is now, however, experiencing international recognition while remaining rooted in the specificity of its own popular cultural styles.