What Remains. Workshop by Juan Cavestany and paco Graco

A workshop to find that which we see, yet fail to see, that which we hear yet fail to hear and search for what we didn't even know we wanted to search for. An exercise in documentation, discovery and a lot of conversation with Madrid, with Paco Graco and Juan Cavestany.

They ask us to rescue Madrid from oblivion, to remain vigilant, because at any moment they might disappear. We say that we rescue neighbors who at one time decided to work, listen and embrace this city.

If there's one thing we're set on doing, it's making our way into places before they disappear, before they have another agent. We go in, we talk, we hug; sometimes, we do only that and then we leave. And at other times, we rescue, and then at others, we film. We leave with a bittersweet, joyful feeling at being the last ones at the cinema and the café.

In the exhibit None of this will remain: The graphic heritage of Madrid (CentroCentro, Madrid) we met up with Juan Cavestany and got to record and bring together a large number of the traders who were in that exhibit. Over chorizo, coffee and aguardiente, we celebrated Madrid, its neighborhoods and them. We said to ourselves, "we have to get out more." Because Juan has been going out for years and doing his best to tell us all about "Madrid, Madrid".

And that is what we want to do in this workshop. We want to go out with more people, learn to listen with more people, make eyes with more people and, who knows, maybe even shoot some footage with more people. It's not about rescuing a specific sign from oblivion or filming anything specific (or maybe it is, if the occasion arises). What is important is the preparation, the search, the observation and the possible history that gets recovered.

Let's not look for the obvious, the cute or the franchised. Let's reclaim the forgotten, the invisible and fragmentary. The absurd. Let's go into back rooms, basements and bathrooms to find the future memories. Let's follow the trail of handwritten advertisements, run-down signs and gates in disrepair. Let's discover locations, family stories, longings, defeats, friends, in order to share them. Whatever we come up will work, as long as it is done out of genuine curiosity.

Capacity: 15 participants max.
Space:Archive (Cineteca Madrid)
Public: anyone over 18 years of age. Curious about the city, wanderers, retirees, students and workers from all walks of life.
Price: 15€ (general admission), usual discounts.

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PACO GRACO
Paco Graco is a living archive, of signs still on the streets, along with some that have been rescued, donated and recovered from the trash or from people who contacted us. It is an ever-growing family. Today it is a project by Alberto Nanclares, Mercedes Moral, Guillermo Borreguero and Zuloark. In 2023 it developed the show None of this will remain: The graphic heritage of Madrid in CentroCentro (Madrid). This five-month show brought together over 260 signs and graphic materials, in addition to countless stories and encounters with people from Madrid and beyond.

JUAN CAVESTANY
Juan Cavestany (Madrid, 1967) is a screenwriter, director and playwright. He received the 2010 Max Award for best Spanish-language author for the theater for his text Urtain for the Animalario theater company. He is the author of the film screenplays Los lobos de Washington (Mariano Barroso, 1999), Guerreros (Daniel Calparsoro, 2002) and Salir pitando (Álvaro Fernández Almero, 2007), among others. He has shot films in Madrid such as Gente en sitios (2013) and El señor (2012), in addition to the collaborative documentary Madrid, INT (2020) made during the pandemic. He is currently shooting Madrid, EXT, a post-pandemic and pre-apocalyptic documentary. His aim is not to correct but rather to just give prominence to, through the framing, urban sadness.