On a November 5th like today, but 125 years ago, the Plaza del Pilar of Zaragoza and the doors of the Basilica del Pilar became the setting for what would be one of the most important most important milestones of Spanish and Zaragozan cinema.. The parishioners coming out of the 12 o’clock mass were transformed into improvised extras for the first film shot in Spain, “Departure of 12 o’clock mass of El Pilar“. That minute of footage has been recreated this Tuesday on the occasion of the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the film.
When the campaign struck twelve o’clock in the morning and “Action!” was shouted, more than fifty actors simulated the departure from El Pilar and have walked through the square trying to faithfully reproduce the original film directed by Eduardo Jimeno Correas in 1899. The scene has been filmed up to three times to be part of a documentary directed by the Aragonese Vicky Calavia and Isabel Soria. about the history of cinema in Zaragoza and its pioneers.
The small filming has generated great expectation among the curious who stood in the Plaza del Pilar to find out what was going on. “What are you doing here, why are there so many people? Or What film is being recorded?” have been some of the murmurs that could be heard in an improvised and numerous public that has stayed until the end of the shooting.
As a metaphor for the theme of the documentary, the extras in this “remake” have been. filmmakers and people from the world of cinemaas highlighted by Vicky Calavia, who has expressed that the recreation is a “good emotional tribute to our city and to what we love most, which is cinema.“. For her part, Isabel Soria said that this small minute of the history of cinema has always “moved her” because she believes that, perhaps, among some of those first Zaragozans who walked in front of the cameras could be one of her great-grandparents.
The documentary, which will include this short reenactment, has a didactic purpose and, at the same time, it is a tribute to those first people who began to make films. “We want it to be known that Zaragoza was a pioneer not only in being the first city that began to receive film images, but also that those who made them were the first to receive them. went out to other places in Spain believing in cinema.“, Soria pointed out. What not everyone knows is that the Gimenos were also pioneers in distributing and exhibiting the film in other parts of the country such as Madrid and San Sebastian. “In other words, they are also pioneers of extending cinema in movie theaters“, concluded the filmmaker.
The documentary will also cover the history of other great names in the world of cinema and other pioneers such as Antonio Tramullas and Ignacio Coyne. The film will continue to be shot throughout this year and up to November 2025 it will not be possible to see that small minute of homage to the city of Zaragoza.