The far-reaching effects of the Spanish Civil War were brought to life last week in the third installment of the I-House's International Film Series, "The Children of Russia." 

The film was presented by a visiting professor from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Norberto Minguez-Arranz.

The 2001 documentary by director Jaime Camino tells the story of approximately 3,000 children who were evacuated to the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War, where they awaited a victory against the fascist nacionalista forces that never came. They went on to endure abandonment, the Second World War and difficulties under the communist regime. It features interviews with several of them, many of whom never returned to Spain. 

Professor Minguez-Arranz spoke about the history of the war and it's lasting impact on modern-day Spain. He explained how the historical rewriting and propaganda of the dictatorship that followed obscured the events of the conflict, and how they affect people in the country today, what he called the "Politics of Memory."

"The events are established, but there are many Spanish citizens who deny them," Arranz said. 

He explained that films like this one are evidence that the country is trying to come to terms with it's past. 

"30 years on, the ghosts are not so scary," he said.  "There is a movement that is happening, the people are claiming the right to know the history of their country."

Arranz also spoke about how film is becoming an important tool for historians.

"The film succeeds in contextualizing the lives of several Spaniards," he explained.  "I think it contributes to the deeper history of Spain, but to values of a democracy as well.  It shows that the past can't be changed, but can be represented."

UT associate professor Nuria Cruz-Camara, a native of Spain herself, introduced the film and the guest speaker.  She spoke about what she hopes students will take from the film.

"I hope they will be able to realize the extent to which the Spanish Civil War affected the lives of all Spaniards, regardless of their ideological positions," Cruz-Camara said. "It was a catastrophic event whose consequences were inescapable."

The next film in the series will be the Korean film "My Father".  It will be shown on February 26 in the Lindsay Young Auditorium.