‘Spanish Affair 2’ to Open the 2016 NZ Spanish Film Festival

‘Spanish Affair 2’ to Open the 2016 NZ Spanish Film Festival

17 Spanish language films spanning genres from romantic comedies to thrillers will take the stage at the Academy Theatre this April as the Spanish Film Festival returns to Auckland after a hiatus of several years.

Running concurrently with the hugely successful Australian Spanish Film Festival for the first time, the New Zealand Spanish Film Festival will run between April 14th – 29th at the Academy Cinema in Auckland CBD.

Opening the festival with a gala screening on April 14th is the Spanish romantic comedy Spanish Affair 2. The film tells the story of Rafael, a Sevillian who has never left Andalucia who decides to leave his homeland to follow Amaia, a Basque girl unlike any other women he has ever known. The film was the highest grossing film for 2015 at the Spanish box office.

Also making its New Zealand premiere at the Spanish Film Festival is the Oscar nominated Colombian film Embrace of the Serpent. Directed by Ciro Guerra, Embrace of the Serpent film won the Art Cinema Award in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and it was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

Embrace of the Serpent

Other festival highlights include Penelope Cruz's starring turn as a woman fighting breast cancer in acclaimed director Julio Mediums (Sex and Lucia, Chaotic Ana) newest feature, Ma Ma, and an indepth behind the scenes portrayal of one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world, FC Barcelona, in Barça Dreams.

Penelope Cruz in Ma Ma

My Big Night brings together a cast of Spanish superstars, and a hilarious story that could only come from the mind of cult director and former comic book artist Alex de la Iglesia (Witching and Bitching). Eva No Duerme, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, brings an incredible true story to the festival, telling of the movement of Eva Peron’s body through the Argentinean political revolution.

A full schedule of screening times will be released in the coming week HERE:

For review tickets for any of the titles please click HERE:

To download high res images of key films in the festival please click HERE:

A full list of titles showing in the festival is as below.

AUTUMN WITHOUT BERLIN (DRAMA/ROMANCE)

A captivating Irene Escolar delivers an award-winning performance as she plays young June – a woman who left her home in Madrid to escape a terrible occurrence. She has now returned, but not as the same person she once was. Wiser and more confident, she yearns to reconnect with her father, brother, best friend and ex-lover Diego. However, her past abrupt departure makes this much more difficult than she anticipated and she must gradually work to regain their love and trust.

AWAITING (DRAMA)

A Spanish couple travel to Eastern Europe with bright hopes of adopting a child. However, things do not work out as they had expected. The dream they came with threatens to turn into a nightmare as their case is dealt with by dishonest pencil pushers in a strange country and they wait to be assigned a healthy (or not so healthy) child. Finding themselves faced with growing hostility, their own latent conflicts come to the fore. The anguish felt by this couple is brought to life with conviction by Catalan actors Nora Navas (Goya Award-winner for Black Bread, 2011) and Francesc Garrido who portrays a highly nuanced character, bristling with expressive glances and mood swings. Both leads convincingly chart the highly emotional journey of this couple making for a truly moving and lasting cinematic experience.

BARÇA DREAMS (DOCUMENTARY)

Barça Dreams details the amazing history of one of the most popular and admired football clubs on Earth, FC Barcelona. Its mites and legends include arguably the world’s best player of all time Lionel Messi, the famous coach Pep Guardiola and the man that revolutionized this sport with his innovative vision, Johan Cruyff.

This emotional journey begins with the club’s founder Joan Gamper, 115 years ago, and follows the dreams and ambitions of a long list of football celebrities. We see the success reached by Messi, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta, all of them born to play football at the extraordinary school of La Masia. Moreover, this documentary unveils the secrets of a powerful sports club linked not only to the world fans but also to the Catalan identity, as it was formed alongside political movements and events, validating its unique legend “Barça: more than a club”.

BREATHLESS TIME (DRAMA)

Maria (Juana Acosta), a Colombian nurse, who lost her daughter at the hands of three Spanish militiamen, resolves to travel to the Spanish Canary Islands with her youngest son to find one of the killers and get revenge. With just a single photograph marked “Ivan” as a clue to the man’s identity, Maria’s life becomes consumed by the search, trapped by the injustice of the terrible crime. On the island too, utterly unaware and unprepared for the impact Maria is to have on their lives are Gonzalo, a school psychologist who finds himself fatefully drawn to Maria… and a man called Ivan and his girlfriend Vero.

DEATH OF A FISHERMAN (CRIME/SUSPENSE)

One misty dawn, in a quiet fishing port in northwest Spain, the body of a sailor washes up in the harbour. Detective Inspector Leo Caldas (Goya Award Winner Carmelo Gómez, El Método) and his assistant Rafael Estévez (Antonio Garrido) are called in from the nearby city of Vigo to sign off on what appears to be a suicide; but details soon come to light that turn this into a complex murder investigation. Uncovering the truth, however, is not easy when the villagers are so suspicious of outsiders. As Caldas delves into the maritime life of the village, he uncovers a disturbing decade-old case of a shipwreck and two mysterious disappearances.

EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (DRAMA)

Inspired by the real-life journals kept by Theodor Koch-Grunberg (portrayed by Jan Bijvoet) and Richard Evans Schultes (Brionne Davis), the film charts each man’s treacherous and life-changing journey. Though decades apart, both are guided through the labyrinthine rivers and jungles by the same native shaman, Karamakate (Nilbio Torres, and later Antonio Bolivar Salvado Yangiama), the last surviving member of his tribe, who takes them deeper and deeper into a heart of darkness. The spectacular widescreen black and white cinematography and evocative sound design combine to depict the landscapes and characters with an hypnotic, mythical sense of wonder. This is an extraordinary film.

EVA DOESN'T SLEEP (DRAMA)

In 1952 Eva Perón, died of cancer at the age of thirty-three. A renowned embalmer was commissioned by grieving husband Juan Perón to preserve her body for display, and Argentines flocked to be near “Evita.” Three years later, when his government was overthrown by a military coup, Perón fled the country before he could make arrangements for the transportation of his wife’s body. The military junta now in control kidnapped the corpse; so afraid were they of Eva’s symbolic power that they even made it illegal to utter her name. Thus began the two-decade journey of Eva’s body throughout Europe and eventually back to Argentina.

FOOD & SHELTER (DRAMA)

Rocío (Natalia de Molina in her award-winning performance) is a young single mother who has been without work for three and a half years in the Andalucian town of Jerez de la Frontera. She is on the edge of a precipice, living day-to-day off the small allowance of odd jobs and the generosity of her neighbours. As she fights to keep her apartment (with several months of rental debt accrued) she struggles to provide for her eight-year-old son Adrián. When Rocío’s gas canister runs out or when her water is turned off, she is faced with an impossible decision: if she replaces them, there is no money to feed her son.

HAPPY 140 (DRAMA/COMEDY)

Elia (Maribel Verdú) has a secret. In an extravagant gesture, she rents a luxury villa to celebrate her 40th with family and friends. Amongst her invitees is her vulnerable sister Cati, her tough husband Juan (Antonio de la Torre) and their 15-year-old son Bruno, as well as Elia’s ex Mario (Ginés García Millán) and his insufferable new fiancée Claudia. At Elia’s birthday dinner, the group shares the best recent news about their lives, but none compare to Elia’s bombshell. She’s won 140 million euros. Far from celebrating Elia’s good news, her guests begin secretly plotting against her. As the air thickens with tension, Elia’s good intentions take a startling turn for the worse, culminating in the ultimate moral crises for all.

ISLA BONITA (COMEDY/DRAMA)

Fernando Colomo stars as Fer, a Woody Allen-esque divorced filmmaker in the midst of a life-crisis who makes ends meet by shooting adverts. While on an impulsive trip to Menorca with an old friend, Fer takes residence in the spare room of Nuria and her daughter Olivia (Olivia Delcán). Over the course of his stay, Fer will battle with an awkward crush on Nuria, while Olivia deals with the fickle nature of young summer love. When Nuria has to leave unexpectedly, Olivia and Fer explore the island and bond.

MA MA (DRAMA)

Magda (Cruz) is separated from her husband and is entirely dedicated to young son Dani (Teo Planell), her pride and joy. Her world is upended when she is diagnosed with breast cancer, but she refuses to be defined by it. During her treatment she meets soccer scout Arturo (Luis Tosar), who is contending with changes and loss of his own. A relationship develops between the two, and as they support one another through hardships and treatment, their love gives life to – and joy in – events that are both unexpected and illuminating.

MY BIG NIGHT (COMEDY)

My Big Night offers all-access to a TV variety show so full of hitches and snags, its cavalcade of superstars will be lucky if they survive the taping. Pop sensation Adán (Mario Casas, Unit 7, SFF12) is duped by a fanatical groupie, while legendary divo Alphonso (Raphael) is stalked by an unstable wannabe. On stage, the hostility is barely concealed between presenters and former lovers Roberto (Hugo Silva, Shrew’s Nest, SFF15) and Cristina (Carolina Bang). Amongst the extras, loveable José is hitting it off with the gorgeous but jinxed Paloma. Meanwhile, outside the studio, there is bedlam as riot police clash with demonstrators.

NO KIDS (ROMANCE/COMEDY)

Gabriel (Peretti) is a divorced dad whose daughter Sofía is the centre of his universe. So much so that he hasn’t had a relationshipin four years. His world is rocked by the sudden reappearance of Vicky, a childhood crush who has grown into a beautiful, independent, self-assured woman. Sparks fly, they fall for each other…there’s just one catch. Vicky hates kids. Gabriel hatches a farcical plot to keep Sofía’s existence a secret from Vicky, but it soon transpires that Sofía has plans of her own for Vicky. Featuring a stand-out debut performance from childactor Guadalupe Manent, this is the ultimate crowd-pleasing comedy.

SPANISH AFFAIR 2 – OPENING (COMEDY)

Returning from months at sea, Koldo is met by his beloved Merche, who is less than impressed with him after his long absence. With her head held high, she storms away in a huff leaving him with an envelope announcing a seemingly joyful occasion – Amaia is getting married! But the fiercely Basque Koldo is horrified to realise Rafa is not the groom… even worse, she is marrying a CATALAN! With less than a few days to go before the wedding, Koldo and Rafa must join forces to prevent Amaia from promising herself to Pau, the wealthy hipster. What is not clear to Koldo, is why Rafa and Amaia separated in the first place

THE THIN YELLOW LINE (DRAMA/COMEDY)

The enigmatic Damián Alcázar is Antonio, a onetime construction foreman who fell off the grid decades ago and is now a night watchman living in a junkyard. Well, not any more: business is bad, and the scrapyard’s owner just replaced him with a guard dog. Jobs are scarce in this corner of rural Mexico, and Antonio has to settle for pumping gas for pittance; but when an old co-worker stops by for a fill-up, Antonio once again gets the chance to lead a team.

Setting out with four novices and a rolling spray-paint machine, the men start the job of laying down a dashed yellow line on a 217-kilometer stretch between two small towns. While on the road, a spectrum of hardships and triumphs will force the unlikely team of misfits to unexpectedly bond.

TORRENTE 5 (COMEDY/ACTION)

Santiago Segura directs and acts, joined by a Spanish-speaking Alec Baldwin, in the most recent instalment of this tour-de-force series. It’s 2018 and Spain has never been in a worse state, in the grips of financial crisis, forced to revert to the Peseta after being forced out of the Euro. Corrupt cop José Luis Torrente (Segura) is released from prison and – disgusted by this changed world – immediately falls back into brazen lawlessness. He chums up to sleazy Eurovegas Casino security chief John Marshall (Baldwin), hatching an Ocean’s 11 style plan for the heist of a lifetime. To pull it off, Torrente gathers a dysfunctional gang of miscreants that he knows from his years of “law enforcement”.

VOLCANO

Living and working on a coffee plantation on the side of the Ixcanul volcano in Guatemala's Kaqchikel Maya region, 17-year-old Maria longs for a different life. An arranged marriage to her older boss looms; however Maria's dreams of running away to the US with a fellow worker further cast her future in shadow.

Returning to the area of his youth, director Jayro Bustamante makes his feature debut with a stirring, visually sumptuous indigenous tale at once familiar and fable-like. That the film casts an anthropological eye over a marginalised culture isn't just a result of Bustamante's painstaking attention to routine and tradition, but of his collaboration with the community he depicts, with the non-professional cast and other locals helping shape the engagingly dramatic story from their own experiences.

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