Now in its 14th edition, the couture festival will also feature the latest film by veteran filmmaker David Trueba and Enrique Buelo’s debut feature, along with two homages dedicated to personalities of Spanish cinema.
Get ready to say “¡Ole!” soon, as the London Spanish Film Festival is slated to take over South Kensington’s Ciné Lumière for a full weekend of culture, cinema and fun. From the 21st to the 23rd of March, the beautiful cinema housed inside the Institut Français will screen tried and true masterpieces, undiscovered gems and upcoming releases. The London Spanish Film Festival is the passion project of Joana Granero who is also the founder of Fashion & Cinema, as well as Director of LSFF.
Also on the program this year are two homages. One is dedicated to the one and only Marisa Paredes, frequent collaborator of Pedro Almodóvar who passed away at the end of 2024. In her honor, the festival will screen the Spanish maestro’s 1995 film The Flower of My Secret, also starring Rossy de Palma, Chus Lampreave and Imanol Arias. In the film Paredes plays Leo, the troubled writer who navigates personal and professional crises with weary resilience and undeniable strength. The screening, on Saturday March 22nd, will be preceded by an introduction by Prof. Maria Delgado — an academic, critic and curator whose work in the areas of Spanish-language theatres and film, memory and culture and production.
The other homage celebrates the iconoclastic director Tony Gatlif and will feature the screening of Vengo, on the 25th anniversary of the film’s release. This extraordinary work of the Seventh Art features Flamenco great Antonio Canales, along with Antonio Dechent, Orestes Villasán Rodríguez, José Ramírez “El Cheli”, Bobote and Juan Luis Corrientes in a story of passion, revenge and music. According to the program notes, here is a brief synopsis and analysis of the film: “As the Caravaca clan seeks revenge for the killing of one of their members by Caco’s brother, Gatlif takes us in Caco’s fast descend as he tries to settle his family’s affairs, all the while haunted by the memory of his lost daughter. Co-written by Gatlif and David Trueba, Vengo is an ode to Spain’s gypsies way of life and their captivating and intoxicating music, which is, according to Gatlif, their life, what they do best. The film is as bewitching now as it was upon its release 25 years ago.
David Trueba will be on hand to present his latest The Good Man, and will participate in a Q&A on the Saturday afternoon. The film, which screened at the 2024 San Sebastian Film Festival, stars Jorge Sanz, Vito Sanz, Macarena Sanz and Aia Pérez and it features a quiet story set against the astonishing backdrop of Mallorca.
A still from ‘Rita’ by Paz Vega
From actress turned director Paz Vega comes Rita, starring Sofia Allepuz, Alejandro Escamilla, Roberto Álamo, Amanda Santos and Vega herself. Rita is a film about toxic masculinity and domestic violence, full of intelligence and subtlety. Written by Vega herself, the film is inspired by her memories of 1980’s Spain and is a love letter to her childhood and that unique moment in Spain when the feeling of freedom exploded after the end of the long years of Franco’s dictatorship.
The opening film is Arantxa Echevarría’s Undercover which will screen on Friday, March 21st, followed by a Q&A, talent to be confirmed. The film, which just won Best Film and Best Actress at this year’s Goya Awards — the Spanish Oscars — is based on the real-life story of Aranzazu Berradre Marín, the pseudonym for the only police officer in Spanish history to infiltrate the terrorist organization ETA successfully. Undercover follows her as she lurks in the circles surrounding ETA, pretending to be a young sympathizer.
To find out about the complete program and to purchase tickets, check out the London Spanish Film Festival website.