nwFilmCenter

Contemporary Spanish Cinema

The recent international success of films like PAN'S LABYRINTH and THE ORPHANAGE, as well as the renown of Spanish directors and actors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, testify to the broad appeal and rich diversity of Spanish cinema today. The FESTIVAL OF NEW SPANISH CINEMA offers an impressive sampling that confirms its unique vibrancy and not only treats you to celebrated recent films by established auteurs, but introduces you to many new talents awaiting wider discovery. This program is organized by Pragda and curated by Marta Sánchez, with the support of Dirección General de Politica e Industrias Culturales and Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA), of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Tourist office of Spain, Embassy of Spain, Washington, D.C.; Dirección General de Relaciones Culturales y Cientificas, Filmoteca, AEIC, of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Support for the opening night post-film reception provided by Freixenet and Tapeña.

Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 7 PM	UNDER THE STARS — OPENING NIGHT DIRECTOR: FÉLIX VISCARRET SPAIN Viscarret's offbeat, delicately observed tale swept up the major prizes at this year's Spanish National Film Festival in Malaga. Benito Lacunza (Alberto San Juan) is a waiter and wannabe trumpet player eking out a living in Madrid. When he learns that his father has died, he returns home to Estella, where he reconnects with his brother Lalo. A sculptor and struggling ex-alcoholic, Lalo is planning to marry Nines, a woman from Benito's past. Benito is well-wary of her until he meets Nines' daughter Ainara (Violeta Rodriguez), an introverted, precocious young girl, with whom he creates a most unusual friendship. Viscarret laces his drama with comedy and an edgy quirkiness, elegantly capturing the jealousies, suspicions, and utter lack of privacy of small-town life. ( 107 min ) FELIX VISCARRET IN ATTENDANCE. ^ Top
Sat, Nov 22, 2008 at 7 PM	SEVEN BILLIARD TABLES DIRECTOR: GRACIA QUEREJETA SPAIN Receiving news that her father is ill, Angela (Maribel Verdú, PAN'S LABYRINTH) and her son Guille travel home to Madrid, but arrive too late. Angela soon learns from her father's girlfriend Charo (Blanca Portillo, VOLVER) that the old man left mountains of debt that she hopes to cover by selling off their business: a local billiard hall, complete with seven regulation-size tables. An idea occurs to Angela: Why not take over the business and try to turn it around? Nominated for ten Goya Awards and winner of two, Best Actress (Verdú) and Best Supporting Actress, Querejeta's humor-laced drama observes the way characters are shaken by the death of a loved one. This year's Spanish submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. ( 113 min ) SPONSORED BY MIRACLE THEATRE GROUP ^ Top
Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 5 PM	ME DIRECTOR: RAFA CORTÉS SPAIN First-time director Rafa Cortés makes an impressive debut with this moody, bewildering mystery about identity. Co-writer Àlex Brendemühl stars as Hans, a German handyman who goes to work for a German businessman on the island of Majorca. Hans soon discovers that his employer's previous man was also a German named Hans, a man who was universally reviled in the village. One day he disappeared, leaving all his belongings behind. As the oppressive rainy season on the island gets decidedly gloomier, Hans becomes obsessed with the secret of his predecessor. Was the man murdered? Or perhaps a murderer himself? Are there answers to the puzzle, or are these only the fevered musings of a man coming unglued in a Lynchian universe of interchangeable identities? Winner of the FIPRESCI Critics Prize at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. ( 100 min ) ^ Top
Sun, Nov 23, 2008 at 7 PM	MATAHARIS DIRECTOR: ICÍAR BOLLAÍN SPAIN No other Spanish filmmaker portrays issues confronting women in contemporary Spanish society better than Icíar Bollaín. Her previous film, TAKE MY EYES, won every major Goya award and MATAHARIS was nominated in six categories, including Best Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress. Bollaín delves into the lives of three private investigators. Ines (Maria Vazquez) works undercover as an employee at a multinational corporation having labor problems; Eva (Najwa Nimri), recently back at work after maternity leave and struggling to juggle her caseload with her family life, accidentally discovers her partner has a secret; and Carmen (Nuria González), investigating a case of adultery, starts reflecting on her own loveless marriage. For each, investigations into the secrets of others ultimately reveal hidden truths about her own life. MATAHARIS deals with themes of distrust, false appearances, career vs. principles, not to mention surveillance...here is a private eye movie that makes us ponder the morality of that eye. —The Hollywood Reporter. ( 95 min ) ^ Top
Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 7 PM	IN THE CITY OF SYLVIA DIRECTOR: JOSÉ LUIS GUERÍN SPAIN Over a few languid summer days, a young foreigner spends his afternoons observing and sketching in an outdoor café. He is hoping to re-encounter a woman named Sylvia whom he met years before in the same city. Sketching the many attractive young women who come and go, he imagines that any one of them could be Sylvia. Then one afternoon, thinking he's actually seen her, he sets off in pursuit of the woman hoping to confront his memory. Guerín's (En Construcción) graceful work eloquently captures the feeling of being in love with love, and the youthful sense of a world filled with almost limitless sensuality. As we track this romantic protagonist on his nearly wordless quest through the beautiful streets of Strasbourg, it seems as if the world was created for the gaze of the camera. Guerín's homage to cinema, painting, love and women imparts a nostalgia for a time when it was possible to search for love, wander streets aimlessly and immerse oneself in a foreign place. ( 90 min ) ^ Top
Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 7 PM	SOLITARY FRAGMENTS DIRECTOR: JAIME ROSALES SPAIN Winner of the Goya Awards for Best Film and Best Director, SOLITARY FRAGMENTS movingly portrays the moments of isolation and beauty that inhabit everyday existence. Adela lives a quiet life in rural Leon with her son Miguelito. Wishing for more from life, she moves with her son to Madrid, where they find rooms in an apartment with a couple, Ines and Carlos. And then the unimaginable happens...Rosales divides the narrative into two sections, with the second part seemingly independent of the first until connections are gradually revealed. ( 128 min ) ^ Top
Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 4:30 PM	SHORTMETRAJE DIRECTOR: VARIOUS SPAIN This selection of award-winning shorts reveals that young talent is on the rise in the Spanish film community. The program includes: Carlota Coronado's LIBRA, in which our protagonist asks for only two weeks' grace (4 mins.); Viaje de Said's SAID'S JOURNEY, an animated excursion to the land of opportunity (12 mins.); Jorge Torregrossa's SUMMER OR THE FLAWS OF ANDRÉS, in which two couples provide a meditation on the nature of relationships (22 mins.); Lucina Gil's THE HAPPY MAN, humorously asking if such exists (14 mins.); Gabe Ibañez's MACHINE, the story of a girl who, through pain and confusion, discovers the way to lost harmony (16 mins.); and Daniel Sánchez Arévalo's TRAUMATOLOGY, a memorable wedding night unexpectedly spent at the hospital (22 mins.). ( 90 min ) ^ Top
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 7 PM	SEPTEMBERS DIRECTOR: CARLES BOSCH SPAIN When Oscar-nominated Bosch (Balseros) went to visit a friend in a jail near Madrid, he was stunned to discover a karaoke Festival of Song, featuring the inmates themselves singing their hearts out to create brief moments touching their dreams. Spanning one year between the annual festivals, the film introduces us to, among others, Adalbert, a gay Argentinean, whose grandmother thinks he's on a cruise; Rudolf, a Lithuanian incarcerated for forgery; Gardoqui, a rock musician; and Arturo, a Spanish Roma with a wife and children. Bosch even travels to distant points around the globe seeking the men and women to whom the prisoners' plaintive love songs are addressed. Despite hard-luck lives and grim circumstances, Bosch finds joy, humor and the power of love to be undiminished. ( 89 min ) ^ Top
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 7 PM	BIRDSONG DIRECTOR: ALBERT SERRA SPAIN Catalan maverick Serra turns his attention to the biblical tale of the Magi. BIRDSONG is, however, anything but a glossy attempt at Hollywood historicism. Rather Serra offers a witty contemplation of the three wise men searching for the newborn baby Jesus, and their journey takes on epic proportions as they meander along the desert-like terrain with fortitude and stoicism. Replete with espadrilles and full robes, they trek across the expansive landscape, stopping to ruminate, rest, bicker, swim, debate the route, and try to outdo each other recounting eccentric dreams. This is a film that refuses to follow the literal, opting instead for a celebration of the playful and the imaginary. —London Film Festival ( 98 min ) ^ Top