News

Julie Delpy’s Meet The Barbarians will open the 21st edition of the Seville European Film Festival on November 8. The Spanish festival turns the spotlight on European films during this year’s awards season.

Meet The Barbarians is a satire about the arrival of a group of refugees in a village in Brittany.

The official selection includes 19 titles in competition for its top award: the Golden Giraldillo, named after the statue that crowns Sevilla’s Cathedral, La Giralda.

The prize comes with €40,000 for the Spanish distributor of the winning film or €20,000 for the company that submitted the film to the...

Un íntimo y revelador retrato familiar marcado por el tabú y la relación entre una madre y su hija. © Filmax

Ya se ha publicado el primer tráiler y póster de la ópera prima de Aitor Echeverría, Desmontando un elefante, que competirá en la Sección Oficial del 21 Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla.

Desmontando un elefante sigue a Marga (Emma Suárez), una arquitecta de éxito que regresa a casa tras pasar dos meses en un centro de rehabilitación por un problema de adicción con el que su familia ha convivido en silencio durante años. Tras su llegada, Marga intentará rehacer su vida anterior mientras su hija menor, Blanca (Natalia de Molina), verá cómo la atención que presta a su madre afecta tanto a sus relaciones como a su carrera como bailarina profesional. Un año después, el elefante sigue siendo tan enorme como siempre. Aunque al menos, ahora, todo el mundo puede verlo.

Spanish production-sales-distribution house Filmax has boarded “Dismantling an Elephant,” the latest film from Barcelona-based Arcadia Motion Pictures, producer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s foreign-language Cesar winner “The Beasts” and Academy Award-nominated animated feature “Robot Dreams.”

Sold outside Spain by Filmax, “Dismantling an Elephant” toplines Emma Suárez, the triple Goya-winning star of Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta,” and Natalia de Molina, who has won two Goyas, one for David Trueba’s “Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed,”which swept the Spanish Academy 2014 Goya Awards

At this week’s American Film Market, Filmax will show buyers a trailer of the film, which is currently finalising post-production.

“Dismantling an Elephant” looks to offer Suárez the typically gutsy role in which she excels, playing a mother trapped by both a close bond to her daughter, which is also a source of conflict, and a day-to-day life whose elephant in the room is her own addiction, which nobody mentions,...

Una fábula optimista y antibelicista sobre un joven Miguel Gila en la Guerra Civil. © Filmax

Filmax ha lanzado el primer tráiler y póster de ¿Es el enemigo? La película de Gila, el filme sobre el icónico humorista Miguel Gila, que se presentará en el Festival de San Sebastián, dentro de las galas de Rtve.

Inspirada en El libro de Gila. Antología cómica de obra y vida, ¿Es el enemigo? La película de Gila se sitúa en el Madrid de 1936 y sigue a un joven llamado Miguel Gila que vive tranquilo y feliz con sus abuelos en una humilde buhardilla. Pero el estallido de la Guerra Civil obliga a Miguel, junto a su amigo Pedro, a acudir a la lucha. Allí Gila sobrevive a la miseria, las batallas, el fusilamiento y la cárcel gracias a su humor. Por esta forma única de interpretar el mundo que le rodea, Gila se convertirá...

Gangs of Galicia (Clanes) is a Spanish crime drama series directed by Roger Gual from a screenplay by Jorge Guerricaechevarría. The Netflix series is based on true events and it follows the story of Ana, a successful lawyer as he moves to the small town of Cambados in Galicia where she gets involved with Daniel, the son of a dangerous drug trafficker and the leader of the Padín clan. Gangs of Galicia stars Clara Lago and Tamar Novas in the lead roles with Chechu Salgado, Xosé A. Touriñán, Melania Cruz, Francesc Garrido, Miguel de Lira, and Diego Anido starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the crime thriller and family drama aspect of Gangs of Galicia here are similar shows you could watch next.

Iron Reign (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

Iron Reign is a Spanish crime thriller miniseries directed by Lluis Quiliz from a screenplay by Quilez, Arturo Ruiz Serrano,...

Netflix has ordered another Spanish film, My Dearest Señorita, and unveiled a first look at upcoming dram series Superstar at an event in Madrid.

My Dearest Señorita, produced by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, is an adaptation of the 1972 Oscar-winning film of the same name directed by Jaime de Arimañán, who co-wrote the script with José Luis Borau starring José Luis López Vázquez.

The 1970s film was a romantic drama that explored themes of intersexuality, and was one of very few to tackle sexual orientation in General Franco’s ultra-conservative Spain. It won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 1973 Oscars.

“My Dearest Señorita is an adaptation,” said Calvo and Ambrossi in a statement. “Times have changed, and we believe it is a good time to revisit this story, a story of gender identity and wonderful, mainstream love. The creative challenge is how far we can update it without losing the essence.

Screen shines a light on 30 European titles that look set to grab the attention of festival directors in 2023, including new features by Tom Tykwer, Paz Vega, Paolo Sorrentino, Cecilia Verheyden and Baltasar Kormakur.

For our separate list of French festival hopefuls for 2024, click here.

Ariel (Sp-Por)

Dir. Lois Patiño

Patiño won the Encounters special jury prize at Berlin last year for Samsara and picked up the emerging director prize at Locarno in 2013 with Coast Of Death. His latest is a free adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, shot in Galicia and The Azores islands. Ariel stars Goya winner Irene Escolar...

The 49th edition of Huelva Ibero-American Film Festival, Spain’s largest confab for films from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, will honor Mexican star Cecilia Suárez with its City of Huelva Award.

With leading roles in Netflix’s “The House of Flowers” and HBO Latin America’s “Capadocia,” Suárez has also be seen in ABC’s drama “The Promised Land” and has worked on films by as Tommy Lee Jones (“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”), James L. Brooks (“Spanglish”), Ernesto Contreras (“Párpados azules”), Antonio Serrano and Fernando Colomo (“Cuidado con lo que deseas”).

The new edition of Huelva runs Nov. 10-18.

Andalusia’s oldest film festival, Huelva will also grant a Light Award to Spanish actress Natalia de Molina, a two-time Goya winner, delivering acclaimed performance in films such as David Trueba’s “Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed” and Juan Miguel del Castillo’s “Food and Shelter.”

Another...

Film Factory Ent. – a sales agent on “Wild Tales,” “The Clan,” “Close Your Eyes” and “The Kings of the World” – has boarded “Jokes & Cigarettes” (“Saben Aquell”), the latest movie from Spain’s David Trueba which is fast-emerging as one of Spain’s late year Goya Award contenders after a San Sebastian sneak-peek and the bow of a trailer.

“Jokes & Cigarettes” joins a Film Factory sales lineup which has included, of titles at this week’s Mia Spanish Screenings on Tour, Javier Macipe’s breakout “The Blue Star,” a hit at San Sebastian where it won the TCM Youth Award and Spanish Co-operation Award.

Trueba, also a novelist, journalist and documentarian, has directed four fiction films and four documentaries since “Living is Easy With Eyes Closed,” which swept seven Goyas in 2014 including picture, director, original screenplay, actor (Fernando Cámara and actress (Natalia de Molina).

Released in Spain on Nov.

Emboldened by the power and position granted by existing societal conventions, patriarchy displays its most vulgar face when it tries to wrest control by violating the basic rights of others—something that can leave deep wounds that not even time can heal. Director Juan Miguel del Castillo, with his second cinematic venture “Unfinished Affairs,” adapted from the novel of the same name written by Benito Olmo, shows once again that his grounded narratives will not allow an easy escape from the social problems he chooses to highlight through his movies. Starring the reliable Fred Tatien and Natalia de Molina (collaborating with the director once again) as leads, the crime noir examines the horror of patriarchal violence and the far-reaching effects of it on the people caught in its loop.

Spoilers Ahead

Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘Unfinished Affairs’?

As the movie begins, viewers are taken to the messy apartment bedroom...

Continuing to tap top series from Spain, Munich-based Beta Film has snapped up international distribution rights to “Simple,” the new dramedy by Anna R. Costa, the co-creator of Movistar Plus+‘s most-binged series, “Arde Madrid.”

Costa’s directorial debut, “Simple” world premiered earlier this week in San Sebastian as a Movistar Plus+ world premiere.

Produced by Movistar Plus+ in collaboration with Destrucción y Salvación, “Simple” turns on four young women in their twenties and thirties, who have reached a milestone in their lives: Sharing an apartment as truly independent adults. The series follows the flat mates, all of whom have disabilities, as they navigate the pressures of adulthood and the absurd norms imposed on them by society.

As Costa asked in a Variety interview: “How on earth has society relegated certain people to the margins based solely on their gender, race, cognition, forcing them into social isolation, challenging and abusing...

The scene opens on Barceloneta, by the shore, and four girls sit together near the boardwalk, looking out at the beach. The Movistar+ original series “Simple” begins as its title suggests, with a concise portrait of each of the four characters, prominent personality traits on display.

Scripting ebullient women is something Spanish director Anna R. Costa never shies from, molding distinctive characters that permeate their scenes long after their exit. On the heels of her prior work on the Movistar+ sensation “Arde Madrid,” the streamer’s most-binged series after its premiere, “Simple” further proves that diverse female leads are in-demand, though, Costa admits, perhaps on account of their numbers. “In a matter of five years the audiovisual industry has made a strong commitment to the feminine.

But let’s not forget that we’re fashionable because we’re currency, our topics are interesting because they generate money,” she says. “What...

Latido Films, one of Spain’s biggest vendors of Spanish-language arthouse and crossover movies, has swooped on international sales rights to “Unfinished Affairs” (“La Maniobra de la Tortuga”).

Domestic distribution in Spain is handled by A Contracorriente Films, one of Spain’s top independent producer-distributors.

World premiering in main competition at this year’s Malaga Festival, “Unfinished Affairs” marks the second feature from Juan Miguel del Castillo whose debut, 2015’s “Food and Shelter,” proved one of the breakout Spanish debuts of the last decade.

A modern-day part of Spain’s great social-issue arthouse film tradition, “Food and Shelter” cast Natalia de Molina (“Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed”) as a single mother threatened with eviction and struggling to put food on the table for her 10-year-old son.

Re-teaming Del Castillo with De Molina, “Unfinished Affairs” is equally grounded in a social reality – Andalusia’s extraordinary Cadiz – but adds a larger...

Exclusive: Isaki Lacuesta’s drama One Year, One Night, about survivors grappling with trauma following the devastating terrorist attack at Paris’ Bataclan theater on November 13, 2015, world premieres in competition at the Berlin Film Festival today. Check out a clip above as a group of friends discusses messages of support they received in the wake of the tragedy.

Nahuel Pérez (120 Battements Par Minute) and Noémie Merlant (Portrait Of A Lady On Fire) star in the film. Pérez is Ramón and Merlant plays Céline, a young couple who attended the concert that fateful night, and while they survived, they are no longer the same. The event leaves a deep scar on both their lives as each tries to cope with the aftermath as best they can. Céline desperately strives to leave it behind her, clinging to her previous life, while Ramón repeatedly revisits the events, trying to remember and understand what happened.

Spolight on the new projects from Rai Com, Latido, TrustNordisk and more.

Italy

Comedians, the new film by Gabriele Salvatores, headlines Rai Com’s market slate. The completed film is based on the play of the same name by Trevor Griffiths and is produced by Indiana with Rai Cinema. It features a cast of aspiring comedians preparing for their big night.

Intramovies is kickstarting sales on the Dutch drama Love In A Bottle, produced by Levitate Film and directed by Paula van der Oest, whose credits include Zus & Zo. It is a lockdown love story that unfolds over FaceTime. The...

Salvador Calvo’s “Adú” leads the way at Spain’s annual Goya Awards nominations with 14 nods, including for best film and best director.

“Las niñas” and “Akelarre” followed with nine nominations each, while “Rosa’s Wedding” has eight.

In the running for the best film Goya are “Adú,” a Netflix acquisition; “Ane” by David Perez Sanudo; “La boda de Rosa” by Iciar Bollain; “Las niñas” by Pilar Palomero; and “Sentimental” by Cesc Gay.

Competing for the best direction Goya will be Salvador Calvo for “Adú”; Juanma Bajo Ulloa for “Baby”; Iciar Bollain for “La boda de Rosa”; and Isabel Coixet for “Nieva en Benidorm.”

In the running for best European film are Jan Komasa’s “Corpus Christi”; Florian Zeller’s “The Father”; Viggo Mortensen’s “Falling”; and Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy.”

Mortensen was the big draw at the 2020 San Sebastian Film Festival where “Falling” played, and where he received the Donostia Award.

El rey tuerto director’s second film is currently shooting in Navarre and stars Verónica Forqué, Santi Millán, Malena Alterio and Natalia Molina among other actors. The filming of Marc Crehuet’s Espejo espejo began the first days of August in Pamplona. The filmmaker made his debut in feature films four years ago with The One-eyed King, which earned a Goya nomination in the Best New Director category. The cast included a number of renowned actors: Verónica Forqué, Santi Millán, Natalia de Molina, Malena Alterio, Carlos Areces, Toni Acosta, Carlos Bardem, Silvia Abascal, Antonio Resines, Loles León, Luis Bermejo and Marta Tomasa. With Crehuet also as the scriptwriter, the film tells the story of the 50th anniversary of Manie Cosmetics, all members of staff are excited and nervous. Alex, the marketing and communication director, knows that redundancies will be made and wants to show the new CEO that although he is almost.

Madrid-based Aqui y Alli, producer of two of last decade’s most admired Spanish movies – 2014’s San Sebastian winner “Magical Girl”; 2018’s “Life and Nothing More,” a Variety Top 10 film of the year – has pacted for “[Rec]”’s Filmax to handle international sales on “Counting Sheep,” one of the most anticipated Spanish feature debuts of 2020.

Filmax, which has acquired international sales rights, will also handled “Counting Sheep’s” theatrical release in Spain.

The deal extends a relationship between Aqui y Allí and Filmax which distributed Aquí y Allí’s “Boi,” released on Netflix outside Spain.

Described as a dark comedic thriller sluiced by caustic wit, “Counting Sheep,” the first feature of José Corral, will be introduced to buyers by Filmax at this week’s Cannes Marché du Film, who will have access to an exclusive Making Of promo showing what the sheep look like.

Also written by Corral, the acerbic comedy,...

Despite dramatic times, there is room for some encouragement in recent moves by the Spanish film industry. Basque global hit “The Platform” proved the most-watched movie on Netflix in the U.S. The Mediapro Studio is upping film production with high-profile projects such as the Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas drama “Official Competition.” Meanwhile, Mr. Fields and Friends, headed by Bambú founders Ramón Campos and Teresa Fernández-Valdés, debuted with “Malasaña 32,” as well as plans to produce three to five movies every two years. Powerhouse Morena Films is in production with “Historias lamentables,” a drama from the team behind Spanish box office smash “Champions.”

Six days before producers will be allowed to restart production shoots in Spain, Pedro Sánchez’s Psoe socialist government has powered up the tax breaks cap for Hollywood and other foreign shoots as part of a relief package for Spain’s cultural industries.

Plowed through a...

A Generation Kplus entry, “Las niñas” (Schoolgirls) is a coming-of-age story and a generational portrait of Spanish women who would now be in their forties.

This tale of sexual awakening takes place in a Catholic education center at the beginnings of the 90’s when Spain’s democracy was 15 years old. Spain had experienced galloping modernity; yet older customs and beliefs remained still deeply rooted.

The feature debut of Pilar Palomero, “La Niñas” is produced by Spain’s Inicia Films, behind Carla Simón’s Berlin-prized “Summer 1993,” and Bteam Pictures, which backed Isaki Lacuesta’s “Between Two Waters”).

Zaragoza-born, Palomero directed multi-prized shorts “Balcony Boy,” “The Night of All Things”) studied at Madrid’s Ecam and in 2013 was selected by Hungarian master Béla Tarr to participate in his training facility, film.factory, in Sarajevo.

As a project, “Las niñas” went to invited to multiple development initiatives: Netherlands Film Festival – Holland Film Meeting...

Other nominees include ‘Intemperie’, ’The Endless Trench’ and ’Fire Will Come’.

Alejandro Amenábar’s While At War leads the nominations for Spain’s 34th Goya Academy Awards but will face-off against Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain And Glory at the ceremony on January 25 in Malaga.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

Amenábar’s Spanish Civil War drama has secured 17 nominations while Almodóvar’s semi-autobiographical film has 16 nods.

While At War has proved a box office hit following its debut at Toronto, ranking as Spain’s third highest-grossing domestic film of 2019 and taking more than $11.3m to date.

Pain and Glory...

Media Luna New Films has sold South Korean rights for comedy-drama “522. A Cat, a Chinese Guy and My Father” to Laon-i at Cannes.

The film tells the story of George, an agoraphobic young woman who can’t walk more than 522 steps from her home. One day, her cat forces her to embark on a trip from Spain to her native Portugal. Along the way, George’s whole world starts to open up.

The film is directed by Paco R. Baños and was produced by Angel Tirado for Tarkemoto in Spain, and co-produced by Pandora da Cunha for Ukbar Films in Portugal. It stars Natalia de Molina.

In the run-up to Cannes, Media Luna closed a deal for “Likemeback” with Alamode for the German-speaking territories. The Locarno premiered Italian film was directed by Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli and produced by Ines Vasiljevic for Nightswim, and co-produced by Indiana Production.

Recent additions to...

Story will use split timelines to recount redemption story.

Chilean producer Pablo Berthelon of Carnada Films has signed a co-production partnership in Cannes with Spain’s Danidogfilms for their latest collaboration A Thousand Hours, a drama about a terminally ill man’s redemptive journey back to his homeland.

Berthelon has taken a minority position alongside majority co-producer Danidog’s Daniel Ortiz Entrambasaguas, and the partners are here talking to potential additional co-producers and finance sources ahead of an anticipated 2021 production start.

A Thousand Hours (Y Si Adán No Quiere a Eva) will use split timelines to tell the story of...

"This is real, right?" Netflix has debuted an official trailer for the indie drama Elisa & Marcela, a Spanish drama that premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. This B&W lesbian romance is set in 1901, telling the story of two women who marry (with one of them posing as a man to pull it off) fifteen years after first falling in love. Greta Fernández co-stars as Marcela Gracia Ibeas, who takes on the identity of Mario Sánchez, in to marry her lover, Elisa Sanchez Loriga, played by Natalia de Molina. The cast includes Sara Casanovas, Tamar Novas, María Pujalte, and Francesc Orella. This received some awful reviews out of Berlinale, saying it's a "plodding, protracted melodrama where provincial folk speak, behave and act like their 21st century counterparts." As stylistic and passionate as it may seem, this sounds like a film to avoid. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster...

In 1901 Spain, Marcela Gracia Ibeas took on the identity of Mario Sánchez to marry her lover of fifteen years, Elisa Sanchez Loriga. The couple was later discovered and had to escape to Argentina. The wedding, according to the Diocesan Archive, is still valid, as neither the Church nor the civil registry annulled the marriage certificates, so this is the first recorded same-sex marriage in Spain, 100 years before it was declared legal in 2005; although, in the Middle Ages, a same-sex marriage between the two men Pedro Díaz and Muño Vandilaz in the Galician municipality of Rairiz de Veiga in Spain was recorded on 16 April 1061…

By José Sellier — Foto publicada en La Voz de Galicia en 1901-Via http://www.20minutos.es/museo-virtual/foto/2259/rank/4/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2256437

The two worked as teachers at a time when the vast majority of the Galician population was illiterate.

In its continued bid to invest in Spanish film production, Sony Pictures International Productions has pacted with Enrique López Lavigne’s Apache Films to co-produce “Adios” by Spanish writer-director Paco Cabezas, who marks his return to Spain with the crime drama.

Cabezas has been building a notable international portfolio that includes “American Gods,” “Penny Dreadful,” “The Alienist,” “Fear the Walking Dead,” and “Neon Flesh.”

“Returning to Seville, the South, to the streets where I grew up, to shoot this film is a dream come true,” Cabezas said. “I’ve learned much from my work in Hollywood; each series, from “Penny Dreadful” to “American Gods,” has helped me grow as a director.”

“And I was dying to find a powerful story, moving, action-packed, made not only for a Spanish audience, but with an international [appeal], to be told in my land,” he added.

Mario Casas, who starred in Cabezas’ “Neon Flesh,” leads...

Isabel Coixet’s Elisa & Marcela was far less popular with the jury.

Nadav Lapid’s Synonyms has tied for the lead at the top of Screen’s Berlin jury grid, sharing the number one spot with Emin Alper’s A Tale Of Three Sisters.

Lapid’s first film since 2014 festival hit The Kindergarten Teacher scored a 3.0 average, receiving all eight scores (A Tale Of Three Sisters currently has six).

It received no lower than a two (average), with three critics awarding it a top score of four (excellent) – Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus, The Morning Star’s Rita Di Santo and Segnocinema’s Paolo Bertolin.

On the surface, “Elisa & Marcela” may look like a lesbian love story for the ages, a salute to our brave foremothers who risked ridicule and imprisonment to express their love. If only it were so essential. Instead, Isabel Coixet’s tired romanticized biopic of two Spanish women who tricked a priest into marrying them in 1901 is a dully made, frequently ridiculous eye-roller shot in standard issue black-and-white that gussies itself up as a brave clarion call for gay rights. Slapdash in construction and lacking any three-dimensionality, the film will get peddled to Lgbt viewers who thankfully have far better options, especially from Netflix.

In 1898, Marcela (Greta Fernández) begins attending a convent school in her home city of A Coruña. On the first day, she has a meet-cute with third-year student Elisa (Natalia de Molina), living at the convent with her aunt, the school’s director, and a friendship based on support and attraction rapidly forms.

New films by Agnieszka Holland, Agnes Varda and Isabel Coixet have been added to the official lineup of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival, along with special screenings of directorial debuts by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and “Narcos” star Wagner Moura of Brazil.

The Berlinale added 11 titles to its competition slate Thursday, representing countries such as China, Norway, Mongolia and Israel. Of the 18 competition titles selected so far, eight are directed by women, including festival opener “The Kindness of Strangers,” by Danish director Lone Scherfig.

Holland’s eagerly anticipated “Mr. Jones,” starring James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, will have its world premiere in Potsdamer Platz. The politically charged film centers on the real-life Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (Norton), whose reporting uncovered a deadly famine in Ukraine in the 1930s.

Another famine-themed film heading to Berlin is Ejiofor’s “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind,” which was recently acquired by Netflix and...

The Berlin Film Festival has added movies by Agnès Varda, Agnieszka Holland, Hans Petter Moland, Isabel Coixet and Wang Quan’an to its competition programme. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind will play in the Berlinale Special strand. Scroll down for the full list of additions to the batch of films already announced for the competition.

Coixet’s (The Bookshop) black-and-white feature Elisa & Marcela, the true-story of two women who got married in Spain in 1901 after one adopted a male identity, will likely receive an extra dose of media attention given that it is a Netflix acquisition, marking the streaming giant’s first film to screen in competition in Berlin. Festival director Dieter Kosslick has previously said that competition films must have a theatrical release.

Among other highlights announced today are James Norton and Vanessa Kirby starrer Mr. Jones from Polish director Agnieszka Holland and Italian mafia pic Piranhas,...

Elisa & Marcela

Spanish director Isabel Coixet turns to Netflix for her latest feature, Elisa & Marcela, a recuperation of queer history in its examination of the first ever recorded marriage between two women in 1901. Produced by Jose Carmona and Zaza Caballos through Rodar y Rodar, Zenit TV and La Nube Peliculas. Cinematographer Jennifer Cox lensed the feature, serving as her first narrative feature. Celebrated Spanish actress Natalia de Molina and Greta Fernandez with a supporting cast consisting of Tamar Novas, Sara Casasnovas, María Pujalte, Francesc Orella, Lluís Homar, Jorge Suquet and Manolo Solo.…...

Madrid — Spain’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the nominees for the 33rdedition of the Goya Awards, to be held at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones in Sevilla on Feb. 2, 2019.

Leading the pack with 13 nominations is Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s ultra-current political thriller “The Realm,” which impressed in San Sebastian’s main competition. The film is produced by Spain’s Tornasol and Atresmedia Cine and co-produced by Le Pacte and Mondex Cie out of France.

Spain’s foreign-language Oscar submission “Champions” scored an impressive 11 nominations of its own. The heartwarming dramedy about a special needs basketball team was a breakout hit at the Spanish box office this year, grossing €18.5 million ($21.4 million Usd) for Universal Pictures Intl. Spain.

It would hardly be a Goya Awards ceremony without one of Spain’s big three export acting talents – Banderas, Bardem or Cruz – and this year two are likely to be in attendance,...

Cannes opener Everybody Knows scores eight nominations.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s political thriller The Realm led the Goya nominations from the Spanish Film Academy with 13 nods including for best film director, actor and original screenplay. It was closely followed by Javier Fesser’s hit comedy Champions with 11 nominations.

Asghar Farhadi’s Cannes opener Everybody Knows garnered eight nominations, including for best film, best actress for Penélope Cruz and best actor for Javier Bardem.

Fesser’s comedy is the most successful Spanish film by far at the local box office this year with a gross of $22m. Produced by Peliculas Pendleton, Movistar+ and Morena Films,...

San Sebastian — Scenes Isabel Coixet’s romantic, historical drama “Elisa & Marcela” were sneak peeked at the San Sebastian Festival on Tuesday, along with further details,. The feature will be released by Netflix in 2019.

A Netflix original – produced by Barcelona-based Rodar y Rodar, A Coruña’s Zenit TV and Córdoba’s Lanube Películas in co-production with regional broadcasters TV3 in Catalonia and Galicia’s Tvg – “Elisa & Marcela” portrays a lesbian relationship in late 19th century Galicia between Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas, ending in the first-ever recorded marriage between two women.

The nearly five-minute sneak peek offered B&W scenes fragments selected by the director and edited by Bernat Aragonés (“The Bookshop”). The shown images exude a large tenderness hinting at a rigorous, richly-textured recreation of Galician life and manners at that time.

Marcela met Elisa in A Coruña in 1885 on their first day of school, founding a deep friendship between the two.

Uruguayan director Gustavo Hernandez made a splash in 2010 with “La casa muda,” a haunted-house thriller with the conceptual novelty of being ostensibly shot in a single, real-time take. Now, with his third feature, “You Shall Not Sleep,” Hernandez moves into the mainstream of Spanish-language genre cinema, with a budget to match, but theresult is too glossy, contrived, and dependent on rote jump scares to raise much of a fright.

No-budget “Casa Muda” had a clammy, ominous atmosphere; “We Shall Not Sleep,” despite good art direction and an abandoned-asylum setting, feels like a convoluted and inorganic rehash of horror tropes from the start. That shouldn’t hurt its commercial prospects (it’s already opened in some South American countries and sold to other territories), but one hopes Hernandez regains some degree of creative idiosyncrasy in the future.

In outline, at least, “Sleep” appears cut from the same conceptual cloth as the director’s prior work,...

Tagline: "Your Fear Will Keep You Awake." You Shall Not Sleep is a horror film from Argentina and director Gustavo Hernandez. Set for an international premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, this title involves a young woman and her participation in a strange experiment, at a psychiatric hospital. Here, experiments on sleep deprivation take place, pushing the patients over the edge of sanity. You Shall Not Sleep stars: Eva De Dominici and Natalia de Molina. A preview of the film's latest showing is hosted here. The trailer shows one subject, forced to stay awake for 108 hours; she looks worse for wear. Several researchers turn up at the hospital. One woman gets drawn into an sleepless experiment as strange visions begin to haunt her. You Shall Not Sleep will see a wide release, in the U.S., later this year. 20th Century Fox will handle the release. This Spanish speaking title...

Goya-winner heading to Italy, Hungary, Iceland and South America.

Isabel Coixet’s Goya-winning The Bookshop that just received its international premiere in Berlinale Special has sparked a raft of deals at the Efm.

Celsius Entertainment has licensed rights for Italy (Movies Inspired), Hungary (Cirko Film) Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile (Cdi Films), Colombia (Cine Colombia), and Iceland (Samfilm).

Screen understands final negotiations are in progress for the Us, and talks are ongoing for Canada, Scandinavia, Poland, and China.

The Bookshop, which stars Emily Mortimer as a woman who causes a stir in a late 1950s English town when she opens a store, went to Portugal (Outsider Films) and Israel (Forum) shortly before the Efm.

Celsius previously licensed a slew of territories including the UK (Vertigo), Germany (Capelight), Australia (Transmission), Benelux (Cineart), Japan (Digital Works), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Turkey (Filmarti), and Romania (Odeon).

Referring to the determination of Mortimer’s character in The Bookshop, Coixet drew a parellel...

Spanish filmmaker Paco León came across Josh Lawson.s The Little Death via the film.s European distributor Vertigo-Wild Bunch, who offered him the chance to make his own version..

.They sent me a DVD to watch and I loved it,. León tells If..

.They promised me the freedom to transport the stories to my universe. Also, producing a film is so hard. In this case, the producers were making it easy for me so I had to do it..

Moving the story to Spain, the director relied on his own sense of humour to guide how far to push the boundaries — .How far to go with the explicitness of the situations, how sassy situations could be, etcetera...

.Each person, depending on their education, culture and personalities has their own limits of what defines good taste,. the filmmaker says.

The result is.Kiki, Love to Love,.the.opening night...

Bayona’s film scoops 12 nods, followed closely by ‘Smoke And Mirrors’ and ‘The Fury Of A Patient Man’.

The 2017 Goya award nominations were announced in Madrid today (December 14) by actors Natalia de Molina and Javier Cámara, Goya winners last year with Food And Shelter and Truman respectively. The ceremony for the 31st edition of the awards will be held on February 4.

J.A. Bayona’s A Monster Calls, which tops the box office so far in Spain this year with $27.6m (€25.9m), leads the nominations with 12 nods including best film, best director for Bayona, best adapted screenplay (for Patrick Ness who wrote the adaptation of his own novel), best supporting actress for Sigourney Weaver, best music, best cinematography, best production design and art direction. Bayona is currently in Hawaii preparing Jurassic World 2.

Two thrillers, a popular genre in Spanish cinema, scored 11 each. Smoke And Mirrors, by Alberto Rodríguez, big winner at the 2015 edition of the Goyas with Marshland...

We've been busy busy with interviews, awards pieces, Silence of the Lambs anniversary, and more so we're way behind on film news. So let's get caught up with news, awardage, and random recommended links...

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Casting & Production

• Variety Amy Schumer trying her hand at drama. She's joined the...

Dramedy takes five awards including Best Film, Best Directo and Best Actor; Isabel Coixet’s Nobody Wants The Night also scores prizes.

Truman, the sensitive buddy dramedy directed by Cesc Gay, was the big winner at the Spanish Film Academy’s Goyas on Saturday night [Feb 6] in Madrid.

The film, an Imposible Films, Truman Film Aie and Bd Cine production, took five big prizes home: Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay (which was written by Gay and long-time friend and co-writer Tomas Aragay) and Best Actor and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ricardo Darin and Javier Camara, respectively.

Argentinian star Darin (The Secret In Their Eyes) and Camara (Talk To Her), one of Pedro Almodovar’s regulars, jointly won the Silver Shell for Best Actor at the San Sebastian Film Festival last September, where the film premiered to strong reviews.

Truman was one of the big favourites going into the Madrid ceremony. Its competitors...

Dramedy takes five awards including Best Film, Best Directo and Best Actor; Isabel Coixet’s Nobody Wants The Night also scores prizes.

Truman, the sensitive buddy dramedy directed by Cesc Gay, was the big winner at the Spanish Film Academy’s Goyas on Saturday night [Feb 6] in Madrid.

The film, an Imposible Films, Truman Film Aie and Bd Cine production, took five big prizes home: Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay (which was written by Gay and long-time friend and co-writer Tomas Aragay) and Best Actor and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ricardo Darin and Javier Camara, respectively.

Argentinian star Darin (The Secret In Their Eyes) and Camara (Talk To Her), one of Pedro Almodovar’s regulars, jointly won the Silver Shell for Best Actor at the San Sebastian Film Festival last September, where the film premiered to strong reviews.

Truman was one of the big favourites going into the Madrid ceremony. Its competitors...

Javier Camara and Ricardo Darin in Truman Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival Truman was the big winner at last night's Goya awards - the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars. Cesc Gay's comedy about a terminally ill man who spends four days with an old friend won five awards - Best Director (Cesc Gay), Best Original Screenplay (Cesc Gay and Tomás Aragay), Best Leading Actor (Ricardo Darin) and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Cámara). It will screen in the UK as part of the Glasgow Film Festival later this month.

Isabel Coixet’s friendship drama Nobody Wants The Night - which opened Berlin Film Festival last year - also won five Goyas.

Its star Juliette Binoche lost out to Natalia de Molina's performance in Juan Miguel del Castillo’s gritty drama about a single mum Food (Techo y Comida) in the Best Actress category. Picking up the award,...

The Bride will compete for 12 Goya Awards Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival The Bride (La Novia) by Paul Ortiz led the charge as the Spanish Academy Goya Award finalists were announced earlier today. The film adaptation of the Lorca classic, which premiered in the Zabaltegi strand at San Sebastian Film Festival this year, received 12 nominations. It was followed by Isabel Coixet's Nobody Wants The Night, which opened this year's Berlinale.

The two films will compete in the Best Picture category against Daniel Guzmán's feature debut A Cambio De Nada, Ricardo Darín and Javier Cámara cancer dramedy Truman and Fernando León de Aranoa's A Perfect Day (Un Dia Perfecto) about a group of aid workers trying to resolve a warzone crisis.

Pedro Casablanc (B), Luis Tosar (Retribution/El Desconicido), Asier Etxeandia, (The Bride), Ricardo Darin, (Truman) will contest the Best Actor title, while Inma Cuesta, (The Bride), Penelope Cruz,...

10 European actors to be celebrated by Efp in Berlin.

The UK’s Maisie Williams and Denmark’s Joachim Fjelstrup are among ten European acting talents to watch who have been selected for the line-up of European Film Promotion’s (Efp) Shooting Stars showcase at the 65th Berlinale (Feb 5-15).

An international jury of film professionals comprising Slovenian producer Danijel Hocevar, Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska, Swedish actress Eva Röse, UK film journalist Damon Wise, and French casting director Nathalie Cheron made its selection of six actresses and four actors from 23 nominations submitted by Efp member organisations.

The line-up for the 18th edition of Shooting Stars - with their nominated films - is as follows:

- Denmark: Joachim Fjelstrup (Itsi Bitsi)

- Finland: Emmi Parviainen (The Princess Of Egypt)

- Germany: Jannis Niewöhner (Sapphire Blue)

- Iceland: Hera Hilmer (Life In A Fishbowl)

- Ireland: Moe Dunford (Patrick’s Day)

- Lithuania: Aistė Diržiūtė (The Summer Of Sangaile)

- Spain:...

Unfazed by the fact that his dream is almost impossible to reach, Antonio (Javier Cámara), a small town English professor, embarks on a quest through the Spanish countryside to meet his hero: John Lennon. His companions, whom he finds along the way, are Juanjo (Francesc Colomer), a teenager running away from his authoritative father, and Belen (Natalia de Molina), a pregnant young woman fleeing from judgment. Acclaimed Spanish filmmaker David Trueba captures the unbelievable true story with an easygoing air, but not without cautiously embedding it with political undertones and significant references to life in the 60s. Taking its title from a line in the popular song “Strawberry Fields” by the Beatles, Trueba’s “Living is Easy with Eyes Close,” is a touching depiction of a curious hidden chapter in history.

"Living is Easy with Eyes Closed" has been shortlisted as one of three possible to represent Spain at the Oscars.

Carlos Aguilar: This is such a warm and unique story. How did you become interested in making it into a film?

David Trueba : It was rather funny. I developed it after listening to the story of this professor that traveled a long distance to Almeria to meet John Lennon. I realize it was a story I wanted to tell. This was a character that embodies what I think is an ideal person: someone who is anonymous, perhaps someone not really that important, humble. However, those are the ones that change the history of a country.

Carlos Aguilar: Had his story been told before? Was there a book or any other material preceding your film?

David Trueba : No, it was a very unknown story in Spain. Nobody had heard about this professor. He is now very happy to have become a celebrity. He is a very charming man.

Carlos Aguilar: How was your experience meeting the real Antonio?

David Trueba : It was very interesting because I wrote the screenplay before meeting him in person. I wrote it just based on the original concept. Later when I went to see him and explained to him that I wanted to make this film, he was just so excited about the idea. He is just very happy.

Carlos Aguilar: Was it important for you to include undertones about the political situation in Spain at the time?

David Trueba : It was very important that those undertones were there, but it was also important for them not to be too specific to the country’s situation. I didn’t want to say that the story could only take place under a dictatorship. I think that even if there is no dictatorship, we still live in a world ruled by authority, fear, control, and repression. The film is about the juxtaposition of our personal freedom and the environment in which we live.

Carlos Aguilar: I think your film delivers a very hopeful story, which upholds John Lennon and his music as a symbol.

David Trueba : During that era Lennon represented freedom, a shining light, or a breath of fresh air. I think in every time period we have the necessity to admire or look up to revolutionary people. These are people that open our eyes. They show us the world, the future, the great ideals. They remind us why we are on this earth. Lennon served that function, and I think we need more people like that. We need to tell stories that open people’s hearts

Carlos Aguilar: Why would you say Lennon’s songs transcended and became iconic?

David Trueba : I think art that doesn’t aim to be transcendental might end up being just that. The Beatles are a great example. Their songs were written to be enjoyed, to make people dance, to talk about their personal stories, and they became universal because they were not pretentious. I think it works the same way with films, sometimes when you give yourself too much importance you actually become less important. I like to tell stories with a certain lightheartedness, but they still have a deeper message underneath.

Carlos Aguilar: Javier Camara is one of the most prolific Spanish actors working today. Did you always have him in mind to play the part?

David Trueba : When I was done with the screenplay I started looking for the right actor and the first one that came to mind was Javier. I offered it to him and he loved it. I needed someone with a particular humanity and the ability to convey the character’s values in a natural manner. There are very few actors capable of doing it that well. It was a fortune for me to have Javier on board.

Carlos Aguilar: The two young characters in the film represent this angst and the ideals Lennon spoke about. Where did they come from?

David Trueba : Young people have always been lost in any era or generation. They always feel oppressed or enslaved regardless of the time period they are born in. Young people always want to fly away and explore. It is important to come across the right people in that stage so that your frustrations can be destroyed and you don’t become a resentful person. One of them was inspired by a family story. I’m the youngest one of 8 siblings. One of my older brothers had left home because my father was adamant about him keeping his hair short and he wanted to let it grow. It was the end of the 60s. The character of Juanjo was based directly on him and on that symbolic fight that young people have to face within their family. They want to be free, to be themselves, and to look the way they want to look. The world changes, and each generation changes, but those conflicts remain the same. There is also the concept of sexual freedom, which is one of the most important topics of the Xx century. Belen is a woman living in the midst of it. Spain was a very Catholic country and it was under a military dictatorship, to be pregnant without a husband was a stigma she would have to carry for life. This journey and the professor teach her that in life one has to make his/her own decisions.

Carlos Aguilar: Cinema has become very cynical and it’s rare to see a film that is intelligent but simultaneously heartwarming. Is this something you think about when writing your screenplays?

David Trueba : What’s very important to me in almost everything I do, is to fight against cynicism whether it’s in my novels or films. Nowadays, to be good, to be the smartest one, or to be invited to festivals, you have to create an exercise in cynicism and distance. You have to present the characters as puppets you laugh at. That’s a bit sinister. Violence and crime are overvalued. These days the most revolutionary thing you can do is unmask cynicism and to try to make a film about freedom. You find freedom in letting yourself feel. Telling stories how you see them not how others tell you they should be. Curiously, having so much freedom we prefer to be imprisoned. We could be making film about anything, but we prefer to be caged in a prison of cynicism.

Carlos Aguilar: There is a noticeable local or Spanish quality to the film. How do you include elements particular to your homeland and still make it compelling for audiences abroad?

David Trueba : I always try to make films that are close to my essence. I think people can feel that authenticity when they watch my films. I’ve never had any intention of telling stories that weren’t close to the reality of Spanish society. This is what I know, what I’ve lived though, and what I can best tell stories about. I’m sure that everywhere in the world people recognize that closeness to the stories and they can connect with them. There is no need to forcefully try to make “universal” as defined by Hollywood. I don’t like that idea of a planet where there are no differences. I think differences are wonderful and they help us discover how similar we are in spite of those differences.

Carlos Aguilar: The reception towards the film has been very positive at home, both with audiences and professionals. It won 6 Goya Awards including Best Film and Best director. Why do you think it has struck a chord with people?

David Trueba : The film has an underlining theme that connects with contemporary Spanish society, particularly regarding the financial crisis. A lot of people have found a breath of fresh air in the film. It tells people that Spain has lived through very dark periods before and has overcome them thanks to being generous, sincere, and to having ideals. The film calls for unity and for humble people to shake off the mediocrity of their government.

Carlos Aguilar: How involved was the Lennon estate in the project? Was it is difficult it get their support?

David Trueba : I had to send them the script and some finished scenes so that they could support the film. Otherwise it would have been extremely difficult to get the rights for “Strawberry Fields” and “Help, “ which are the two songs we use in the film. They reacted very positively towards the film once they understood what I wanted to say.

Carlos Aguilar: Lennon is an iconic figure, a bigger than life character known around the world. Yet, he was humble enough to meet with the small town teacher. That really says a lot about him as a person.

David Trueba : One of the things the professor mentioned on several occasions is that John Lennon was very young when he met him. He turned 26 while being in Almeria and he was very surprised to learn that his songs were being used in an English since he had been a very bad student. The professor says Lennon was very polite, charming, and open. From that point on he always send him his albums. I think this is a lesson for a lot of famous people today – who for the most part are just 1% as famous as he was- about how to be an international superstar and still be a good person.

A teacher in Franco-era Spain who wants to meet John Lennon drives the story in Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed, while the four-legged cast outshine the humans in Of Horses and Men

• Read Peter's first report from the San Sebastián film festival

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Film festivals are places where little movies can wind up punching above their weight. This year at San Sebastián, such a film is the glorious Of Horses And Men, an Icelandic film by the first-time director Benedikt Erlingsson, a former actor who has appeared in Lars Von Trier's comedy The Boss of It All.

This is a film in which the horses are the stars. It is about a remote Icelandic community of smallholders and horse-breeders, who nurse within their hearts the passions and physical needs that horses are not shy of showing. An uptight fellow trots over...