The director of ‘Kautela, the photographer’, Patricia Roda. /
The documentary, directed by Patricia Roda, uncovers the story of Francisco Martínez Gascón through the doctoral thesis that his granddaughter carried out on his figure
A fortuitous meeting in Zaragoza, two friends who had not seen each other for a long time and a phrase, «what are you up to?». That is the cocktail that gave rise to ‘Kautela, the photographer’. The question was asked in 2016 by the director of this documentary, Patricia Roda, to Cristina Martínez, who at that time was a few days away from defending her doctoral thesis. Her work was focused on the figure of her grandfather, the photographer Francisco Martínez Gascón -Kautela-, an investigation that was born in a forgotten suitcase and that became a feature film after that innocent question.
“When my grandmother died, we found a briefcase with newspaper clippings and many photographs in her house. They belonged to my grandfather, who was a photojournalist,” explains Martínez. The find went to her house, where she stayed until Kautela’s granddaughter decided to enroll in a doctorate course -in a library and documentation plan- with the aim of ordering all the documents she had found. “The person who taught the course told me that the finding was the subject of a thesis and she ended up becoming the director of the investigation,” she recalls. Months later, on the day of the defense, the documentary began to be recorded. «When I met Patricia and told her about my thesis, she decided to come with her camera. At the time we didn’t know where all this was going to take us », she says. But the director had a clearer future. “From the first moment I knew that it was a story that had to be told,” she replies Roda.
That is why the thesis is the main core of the documentary, the script. The history of Kautela is based on it, with two thousand cataloged and described photographs that go through the private and professional life of the photographer, who took snapshots of the Civil War on the national side. «When we talk about this historical period we always find photographs of the Republican side. This work allows us to get to know the war from another point of view”, explains Martínez. This translates into a large amount of unpublished material that has remained unpublished despite Kautela’s profession. After retiring, the camera continued with him, now in the private sphere, with special prominence of the bullfights. “His images of him, both professional and family, are of great quality and deserved to be seen,” says the director.
Kautela’s briefcase, found by her granddaughter and main part of the documentary
But not all the material is in the documentary. “I still have a lot to order at home,” confesses Martínez. In the one he has cataloged, some unpublished negatives stand out that show the entry of General Yagüe into Barcelona after the victory of the rebels. “They are the jewel in the crown. The most valuable », he specifies. It is this reel that links Kautela with the most renowned photographer of the Spanish Civil War, Robert Capa. «My grandfather photographed those who entered the city and Capa those who left. They also coincided in Teruel, each one on one side », she explains.
The suitcase that remained hidden for so many years gave way to other memories that have shaped the history of Kautela, a nickname by which Francisco Martínez Gascón was known for his fame of being cautious in life’s situations. Patricia Roda and Cristina Martínez have done their part to uncover this story. Now, the photographer’s granddaughter thinks of her nieces to continue the work.