The Palace Byron Bay is hosting this year’s Spanish Film Festival which has love and passion as its theme – two subjects the Spanish know just a little about (or so it’s rumoured). The festival runs from Thursday April 30 to Thursday May 7. To win a double pass to a film simply leave a comment in the box below or on Verandah Magazine’s Facebook page.
“Without cinema, we are nothing.” Spanish Director Pedro Almodóvar
Spain’s biggest ever box office hit Spanish Affair, which was seen by over two million people in the fortnight following its release in Spain, will open the festival in each state across Australia. This comedic tale mischievously pokes fun at cultural differences as it tracks a young southerner who tenaciously seeks to win the heart of a Basque girl, making it a very Spanish affair indeed. Opening night festivities on April 30 begin at 6.30 pm with a glass of bubbles on arrival before Spanish Affair screens at 7 pm, followed by a Latin fiesta with Spanish wines, tapas and live entertainment.
Marina and Victor face a reality check in Easy Sex, Sad Movies
The mutual affection between Spain and Argentina lives on as two parallel love stories play out across the seas in Easy Sex, Sad Movies screening on Friday May 1. Marina and Víctor have everything that makes a beautiful love story: they are young, single, attractive and have a profound affection for one another. Very soon, they will realise they are soul mates. There is just one problem: Víctor and Marina are, in reality, fictional characters created by Pablo, a sentimental writer and director who has embarked on writing a romantic comedy. The question is: is it possible to write a love story when your own love is in the past?
Screening on Saturday May 2 are three films: Ismael, a tender drama about returning to one’s roots, centres on 10 year-old Ismael Tchou who heads for Barcelona in search of the father that he’s never met – his only clue the return address on a letter sent to his mother; Get Married If You Can is a Mexican rom-com which broke Mexican box office records, about the importance of staying true to oneself and the meaning of genuine love.
Paco Leon directs his mother, Carmina Barrios in Carmina and Amen.
In the third film, Carmina and Amen, Paco León returns to directing his mother, cult figure and matriarchal tour-de-force Carmina Barrios, and his sister Maria León. His previous film Carmina or Blow Up, became an unexpected comedic hit throughout Spain (and at our festival in 2013) and now Carmina and Paco have re-teamed with a hysterical sequel that upgrades the low-budget original with a more mature, polished film that still feels fresh and very Spanish but takes Carmina’s outrageous, larger-than-life personality to the next level. This time Carmina works furiously to conceal the surprise death of her husband from family and friends in order to allow enough time for his bonus pay cheque to clear.
This year, for the Spanish Film Festival, Rafael Bonachela, (Artistic director, Sydney Dance Company), reprises his role as Festival Patron.
