Studies in European Cinema Volume 1 Number 1. © Intellect Ltd 2004. Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/seci.1.1.43/0 Mapping the gendered space of the Basque Country Rob Stone and Helen Jones Abstract Conflicting definitions of Basque identity have been at the centre of Spanish polit- ical debate for more than a century, with linguistic and cultural differences spin- ning off from the core disagreement over territory and its autonomy. There also exists an internal struggle to define Basqueness that is waged between entrenched gender roles and those who seek their evolution. How do these rigid divisions of gendered space complicate and challenge the nation’s campaign for independence? This article explores the cinematic representation of gendered Basque space in relation to the territorial and ideological conflict over the Basque Country in the patriarchal, centralist dictatorship of Franco and the liberal, pluralist Spain which emerged following the transition to democracy. The article includes analysis of Ama Lur, El proceso de Burgos, La fuga de Segovia, La muerte de Mikel, Yoyes, Salto al vacío and Días contados. It begins by questioning whether evolving notions of private and public spaces, which had for so long been synony- mous with the female and male arenas, could be contained within the ideal of a Basque utopia, and proceeds to examine how the contemporary transformation of gender roles disrupted the stability of the new, autonomous Basque Country. Contributor details Helen Jones is in the process of completing her doctoral thesis on the Basque author Bernardo Atxaga at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where she lectures on Basque and Spanish literature and film. She has also lectured on contemporary Basque studies at the University of the Basque Country and has acted as correspondent for BBC Radio Cymru on Basque Affairs. Helen Jones, Department of Spanish, University of Wales Aberystwyth, Old College, King Street, Aberystwyth SY23 2AX, UK. Rob Stone is a lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Wales, Swansea, where he specializes in Spanish and European film studies. He is the author of Spanish Cinema (Longman, 2002), Flamenco in the Works of Federico García Lorca and Carlos Saura (Edwin Mellen, 2004) and co-editor of The Unsilvered Screen: Surrealism on Film (Wallflower, 2005). He is currently writing a book on the film-maker Julio Medem which will be published by Manchester University Press and Ocho y Medio in 2005. Rob Stone, Department of Media and Communication Studies, Digital Technium, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK. Email: R.A.Stone@Swansea.ac.uk 43 SEC 1 (1) 43–55 © Intellect Ltd 2004 Keywords Basque Country gender Basque cinema ETA separatism identity