Taking a sneak peak inside the 2016 Spanish Film Festival reveals a wealth of emotions with dramas, romances, thrillers and major box-office hit comedies from across Spain, plus a selection of gems from Latin America, served exclusively at the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas from 4 May 2016.
Following on from last year’s Festival opener comes the second instalment of the record-breaking Spanish Affair, with its playful take on the tensions between Spain’s regions – this time including the Catalans in the mix! Spanish Affair 2 (Ocho Apellidos Catalanes) will open this year’s festival with more laughs and new twists to the relationship saga, once again teaming director Emilio Martínez Lázaro and with stars Clara Lago and Dani Rovira in the highest-grossing film of 2015 at Spanish theatres.
Other Festival highlights include:
The comedy Isla Bonita by veteran Spanish director Fernando Colomo, who also stars as a seasoned publicist flustered by modern times.
Spanish director Cesc Gay’s Truman cleaned up at this year’s Gaudí Awards in Barcelona picking up six awards including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Film. It’s a wise, wistful and well-observed film about two friends enjoying a reunion in the shadow of darker circumstances.
Festival favourites Raúl Arévalo and Inma Cuesta return in Sidetracked (Las Ovejas No Pierden El Tren) about six young adults trying to find their way out of a personal crisis, each one breaking free in the most creative and surprising way possible.
Coming-of-age drama Nothing in Return (A Cambio De Nada) was the winning film at the last Malaga Festival which sees 16-year-old Darío run away from home to escape from his family nightmare. Along the way he collects a soulmate, an old crook and an elderly lady who collects abandoned furniture.
From Colombia, comes the searing and poetic Oscar-nominated, Embrace of the Serpent (El Abrazo de la Serpiente). The third feature by Ciro Guerra is filmed in stunning black-and-white and centres on Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people, and the two scientists who, over the course of 40 years, build a friendship with him.
With a talented cast of Spain’s newest generation of actors led by Maxi Iglesias and Aura Garrido, Innocent Killers (Asesinos Inocentes) sees a University professor give his failing student an option to pass, but it’s not an easy decision. This fast-paced, high-concept thriller is a mind-bending new entry into a genre that Spanish cinema does remarkably well.
From Argentina, The Clan (El Clan) is the latest film from director Pablo Trapero, which earned him the Silver Lion at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. It’s headlined by Guillermo Francella and tells the gripping and disturbing true story about a family of violent kidnappers.
The 2016 Spanish Film Festival feature more than 30 films and will screen exclusively at the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas from 4-22 May 2016. For more information, visit the Spanish Film Festival website or book tickets through the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas.
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