How many films will you catch at this year’s Pelicula, the Spanish Film Festival organized by Instituto Cervantes? Pelicula will screen approximately 25 films from Oct. 5 to 13 at Shangri-La Plaza cinemas, starting with the multi-awarded animated film Robot Dreams (2023) by Spanish director Pablo Berger.
As one of the must-experience international film festivals based in Metro Manila, Pelicula celebrates its 23rd edition with a well-curated selection of Official Selections, including Víctor Erice’s latest work Cerrar los ojos (2023) and director Javier Macipe’s La estrella azul (2023).
In Cerrar los ojos (Close Your Eyes), famous Spanish actor Julio Arenas disappears while shooting a film. The police conclude that he has been the victim of an accident by the sea. Many years later, a TV program brings the mystery surrounding his disappearance back into the spotlight, showing exclusive images of the last scenes he filmed, shot by his dear friend, director Miguel Garay.
One of the few films about rock and roll made in Spain, La estrella azul follows a famous Spanish musician who meets an elderly musician who, despite having written some of his country’s most famous folk songs, is going through hard times and can hardly pay his bills. Together they form an outlandish Quixote-style duo, with all the makings of total commercial failure.
There will be comedies such as Casa en llamas (Dani de la Orden, 2024) and Loli Tormenta (2023), which will be presented by scriptwriter Mario Torrecillas, as well as documentaries like Rioja, the Land of a Thousand Wines (2023), Hispanoamérica, canto de vida y esperanza (2024)—both films by José Luis López Linares—and Benito Pérez Buñuel (2022), an intriguing exploration of the influence of Pérez Galdós’ novels on Luis Buñuel’s films. This documentary will be presented by its director Luis Roca on Oct. 8.
Catch the Latin American films: Argentine comedy Puan (María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat, 2023), Brazilian Pacarrete (Allan Deberton, 2019), and Panamanian Las hijas (Kattia Zúñiga, 2023).
For this edition, Pelicula introduces Creadores teatrales, a special section featuring four filmed productions from Teatro Real in Madrid. Featured productions include El amor brujo (in ballet version by the company of Víctor Ullate), Carmen, and Fuenteovejuna (both adapted by Antonio Gades), as well as El público, an opera based on Lorca’s text, recreated by Spanish composer Mauricio Sotelo and featuring prominent flamenco figures in its cast.
Highlighting the cinematic connections and shared history of Spain and the Philippines, the film festival introduces En corto: Short films from the Philippines, Latin America, and Spain, another special section featuring short films from the three countries.
All screenings are free to the public. All films are in Spanish (or their original language) with English subtitles.
Don’t forget to visit a special exhibition, What’s a festival like you doing in a city like this?! on display at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes. The exhibition features a selection of posters, videos, and graphic materials from past editions of the festival.
There will also be a free film workshop for children conducted by filmmaker Mario Torrecillas on Oct. 6, also in Intramuros. Participating children will create a video about how they dream of the city.
Since its inception in 2002, Pelicula has been an annual attraction for Filipino cineastes. In 2004, the festival introduced a popular tradition where viewers can rate the films they have watched. The film with the highest ratings will receive the Audience Choice Award and will be screened again during the festival’s closing. Pelicula 2024 will culminate on Oct. 13.
Pelicula 2024 is a project of Instituto Cervantes in Manila, presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, AECID, Shangri-La Plaza, the Embassy of Argentina in the Philippines, the Embassy of Brazil in the Philippines, the Embassy of Colombia in the Philippines, MTRCB, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, De La Salle University – College of Saint Benilde, the UP Film Institute, the Department of European Languages of the University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University, CIIT College of Arts and Technology, Mapúa University, iAcademy, Mint University, Ateneo de Manila University-Modern Languages, Kinoise PH, and Sinegang PH. It is sponsored by Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Arthaland, Ayala Corporation, Fundador, Terminal Six, and Boysen.
For updates on the festival, please visit the website of Instituto Cervantes de Manila (https://manila.cervantes.es) or the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes de Manila: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.
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