BBC Documentaries

Paula Rego: Secrets and Stories (2017x71)

Air date: Mar 25, 2017

A unique insight into the life and work of celebrated painter Paula Rego directed by her son, film maker Nick Willing. Notoriously private, Rego opens up for the first time, surprising her son with secrets and stories of her life, battling fascism, a misogynistic art world and manic depression. Born in Portugal, a country which her father told her was no good for women, Rego used her powerful pictures as a weapon against the dictatorship before settling in London, where she continued to target women's issues such as abortion rights. But above all, her paintings are a cryptic glimpse into an intimate world of personal tragedy, perverse fantasies and awkward truths. Nick Willing combines an archive of home movies and family photographs with interviews spanning 60 years and in-depth studies of Rego at work in her studio. What emerges is a powerful personal portrait of an artist whose legacy will survive the years, graphically illustrated in pastel, charcoal and oil paint.