Ocaña: An Intermittent Portrait 1978

The painter Ocaña José Pérez Ocaña introduces viewers to his life, sharing his alternative lifestyle and candid opinions about religion, fetishism, art, and more. The film also paints a revealing portrait of Barcelona at the dawn of the Transition, a city where he lived and where his art and persona challenged the status quo. It captures the city’s gay scene during a period when la Ley de peligrosidad social was still in effect, a law used to criminalize homosexuality and enforce social control.

[Ocaña] strains against social conventions and sexual repression, a stance rooted in his own upbringing in Cantillana, a small Sevillan town. He asserts that people are the only thing he truly believes in and rejects any labels that might categorize him or others. Throughout the documentary, he reclaims himself through his body, through performance, and through his work as a painter and sculptor. The film includes some of his performances in a cemetery and along the Rambla of Barcelona, offering a raw look at how he uses space and ritual to express identity. He makes clear that he is not a travesti but a performance artist, underscoring the idea that the individual has the power to act freely.

His views on politics and religion go beyond traditional parties or the Catholic Church. His approach to religion leans toward folk devotion and the atmosphere of Andalusian festivals and romerías, rather than doctrinal Catholicism. The documentary thus presents a complex, intimate portrait of a man who lived at the edge of convention, using his art and body to question norms and invite viewers to reconsider what makes a life truly expressive.