Instituto Cervantes’ PELÍCULA-Spanish Film Festival unfolds from October 4 to 20

From October 4 to 20, the 17th edition of PELÍCULA, the Spanish Film Festival, will be featuring the best of contemporary Spanish cinema at Greenbelt 3, UP Diliman and Instituto Cervantes Intramuros. Presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain, Turespaña, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), the 2018 edition of the Spanish Film Festival will screen more than 20 films.

Since its conception in 2002 by Instituto Cervantes, the Spanish Film Festival has been an annual attraction at Greenbelt, and following that tradition, the first leg of the Festival will be held at Greenbelt 3 Cinemas from Oct 4 to 14, bringing the best of Spanish and Latin American cinema to the local audiences of Makati and the rest of Metro Manila.

The line-up of films shows a list of genres ranging from romance (Los amores cobardes) and comedy (Campeones, La llamada, Mi querida cofradía) to documentary (Dancing Beethoven), adventure (Oro), children animation (Atrapa la bandera), adult animation (Memorias de un hombre en pijama), and drama (La novia). Aside from its line-up of movies in different genres, PELÍCULA also shows Latin American cinema with feature films from Argentina (The Summit), and Cuba (Últimos días en La Habana).

The Spanish word “película”, which means film, resulted in the Filipino “pelikula”, echoing the cultural ties shared by the Philippines and Spain. In line with this spirit, since its first editions the Festival has aimed to put up joint Filipino-Spanish programs. On October 12, PELÍCULA 2018 will offer, in collaboration with Cut Print Productions, the program Encuentros en el cine: Shorts from the Philippines and Spain. The program will feature ten recent Spanish shorts and will also premiere two Filipino short films  -- The Gathering, by Arvin Belarmino, and actor Xian Lim’s Our Love Story, his first attempt behind the camera.

A Tribute to Bergman

In the year of his birth centennial, PELíCULA pays tribute to Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), one of the main filmmakers in the History of Cinema. To honor the Swedish director, and thanks to the collaboration of the Embassy of Sweden and the UP Film Center, PELíCULA 2018 is presenting the special section “Bergman in Spain”. The program will feature two Bergman’s films (Wild Strawberries and Persona), plus two Spanish films influenced by the Swedish maestro’s notion of cinema –Carlos Saura’s Cría cuervos and Pedro Almodóvar’s Tacones lejanos (High Heels).

Audience Choice Award

Last but not least, film buffs should not miss the “Audience Choice” Award that happens in every edition of PELÍCULA. During the Festival, the audience will be given stubs with which they can rate the movies they have seen. For every five movies, members of the audience will qualify to join the raffle where they will get a chance to win a round-trip ticket to Spain. The winning entry will be re-shown on October 14, 7pm, at Greenbelt 3, and at Instituto Cervantes Intramuros on the 20th of October PELICULA Fin de Fiesta. 

Presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain–AECID, TurEspaña, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), PELÍCULA is made possible by Ayala Cinemas, Fundador, Turkish Airlines, and Philippine Transmarine Carriers, in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden, Ayala Land, Ayala Museum, UP Film Institute Picasso Hotel, Intramuros Administration, ICAA, and Cut It Productions. For the schedule, line-up of films and further information on the Festival, please visit the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila or check out Instituto Cervantes’ website: http://manila.cervantes.es