Lecture by Evgeny Travenov: “Fairy Tales, Fascism and Resistance in Guillermo del Toro’s Film”

Special Lecture Marking 20 Years Since the Film’s Release

Lecturer: Yevgeny Trebanov, advertising and digital manager at the Hebrew University, and in his spare time a passionate film enthusiast, a great admirer of Guillermo del Toro, and a lecturer on film and pop culture.

Pan’s Labyrinth — Mexico, Spain, 2006 | 112 minutes | Spanish | Hebrew subtitles

Spain, 1944. Ten-year-old Ofelia arrives at the estate of her mother’s new husband, Captain Vidal, an officer in the army of the dictator Franco. In his role as the person responsible for persecuting opponents of the regime, Vidal reveals himself to be a cruel and wicked man, and in his relationship with his new stepdaughter he makes no effort to win her over, even superficially.

In her distress, Ofelia finds refuge and comfort in a secret world: in the forest, she discovers an ancient and wondrous labyrinth where Pan, the mythological god of shepherds, is hiding. Pan tells her that she is a lost princess and sends her to carry out three daring and dangerous tasks, at the end of which she will be able to return home as a heroine from the fairy tales.

Guillermo del Toro’s film is a fantastical tale for adults, in which the worlds of reality and imagination merge into an allegory about fascism and the human spirit.

“Pan’s Labyrinth is a cinematic achievement, one of the most impressive films to reveal the depths of the imagination—the subconscious into which viewers descend together with the film’s heroine.”
— Uri Klein, Haaretz