SPECIAL EDITION OF RECENT SPANISH IN LOS ANGELES & MIAMI ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAM LINE-UP OCTOBER 22-29TH

The 2020 Recent Spanish Cinema Series will take place Oct 22nd through Oct 29th and will screen contemporary Spanish Movies for California & Florida audiences. The series will take place both virtually and physically with opening and closing nights at the Drive-In in Los Angeles and Miami respectively.

This year, the Los Angeles and Miami Spanish Film series join forces to co-host and present a combined special edition of Recent Spanish Cinema that is both a virtual LOG-IN and physical DRIVE-IN event, tailored to fit the pandemic situation.

Recent Spanish Cinema is presented by the Spanish Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), a part of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, EGEDA US (US-based Spanish producers association) and The Olympia Theater in Miami.

• When: Drive-In Opening Night in Los Angeles: Oct 22^nd
• Virtual Film Series, Panels, and Industry Events: Oct 22nd – Oct 29th
• Drive-In Closing Night in Miami: Oct 29^th

VIRTUAL SHOWCASEVirtual screenings and panels:  Dates: Oct 22^nd -29^th, 2020. The digital screenings are accessible only to those who are physically present in the states of California and Florida. 

Available from Oct 22nd to Oct 29th, unless otherwise noted.

THE ENDLESS TRENCH-LA TRINCHERA INFINITA

Advanced Screening! Higinio and Rosa have only been married for a few months when the Civil War breaks out, representing a serious threat to his life. Helped by his wife, they decide to use a hole dug into their own house as a provisional hiding place. The fear of potential reprisals and the love they feel for one another will condemn them to an imprisonment that will last for more than 30 years. 

• Year: 2019
• Running time: 147 minutes
• Director: Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño, Jose Mari Goenaga
• Cast: Antonio de la Torre, Belén Cuesta, Vicente Vergara
• Screenwriter: Luiso Berdejo, Jose Mari Goenaga
• Producer: Xabier Berzosa, Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo, Iñaki Gomez, Birgit Kemner, Miguel Menéndez de Zubillaga, Iñigo Obeso
• Distributor: Netflix

THE EUROPEANS-LOS EUROPEOS: U.S. Premiere!

Spain, 1958. Two young, single friends, Miguel, a shy man from the provinces, who’s struggling to make a living as a draftsman, and Antonio, the charismatic only child of a wealthy architect from Madrid, take a trip to Ibiza, lured by the European sexual myth and the illusion of freedom. Once there, in the town of San Antonio, they will find themselves accompanied by a community of liberal, eccentric, almost tragicomic characters. As they let their hair down and start to enjoy the freedom from the usual social constraints of the time, they will soon become just two more of the island’s castaways. While Antonio, the more extrovert of the two, embarks on a series of amorous adventures, Miguel finds himself falling deeply in love with Odette, a beautiful, cultured and free-spirited Parisian. The couple will spend several idyllic weeks together, before an unexpected twist in their relationship reminds Miguel that there’s also trouble to be found in paradise. His dreams suddenly shattered, Miguel will be forced to face the consequences of his actions, in a country that is still extremely conservative and even dangerous.

• Year: 2020
• Running time: 89 minutes
• Director: Víctor García León
• Cast: Juan Diego Botto, Raúl Arevalo, Stéphane Caillard
• Screenwriter: Bernardo Sánchez, Marta L. Castillo
• Producer: Claire Charles-Gervais, Enrique López Lavigne, Jaime Gona, Louise Bellicaud, Xavier Granada
• Distributor: Filmax

THE INNOCENCE – LA INOCENCIA :L.A. Premiere!

Lis is a teenage girl whose dream is to become a circus artist and leave the small village she calls her hometown, although she knows that doing so will imply a bitter confrontation with her parents. It’s summertime and Lis is spending her days hanging out on the village streets with her friends and flirting with her boyfriend, Nestor, who is a few years older than her. The lack of privacy and endless gossiping among the neighbors compel Lis to keep her relationship with Nestor a secret to ensure that her parents don’t find out. When the idyllic summer comes to an end, Lis will have to fight to secure her independence and overcome the challenges that adulthood brings.

• Year: 2020
• Running time: 92 minutes
• Director: Lucía Alemany
• Cast: Carmen Arrufat, Laia Marull, Sergi López
• Screenwriter: Laia Soler, Lucía Alemany
• Producer: Belén Sánchez, Juan Gordon, Lina Badenes
• Distributor: Filmax

SCHOOLGIRLS-LA NIÑAS: L.A. & Miami Premiere!

Celia, an 11-year-old girl, studies in a nun school in Zaragoza and lives with her mother. Brisa, a new companion recently arrived from Barcelona, pushes her towards a new stage in her life: adolescence. On this trip, during the Seville Expo and the 1992 Olympic Games, Celia discovers that life is made of many truths and some lies.

• Year: 2020
• Running time: 100 minutes
• Director: Pilar Palomero
• Cast: Andrea Fandos, Francesca Piñón, Natalia de Molina
• Screenwriter: Pilar Palomero
• Producer: Alex Lafuente, Valérie Delpierre
• Distributor: Film Factory

INSTANT LOVE-AMOR EN POLVO: L.A. & Miami Premiere!

Pablo and Blanca have decided to try swinging, but they ignore its first and most fundamental rule: to abstain from doing so when things aren’t going well in a relationship. To bring this about, Pablo and Blanca each call a friend who is single, Lucas and Mia respectively, thereby ignoring the second cardinal rule: to only swing with another couple.

• Year: 2020
• Running time: 79 minutes
• Director: Juanjo Moscardó, Suso Imbernón
• Cast: Enrique Arce, Luis Miguel Seguí, Macarena Gómez, Lorena Gómez
• Screenwriter: Juanjo Moscardó Rius, María Laura Gargarella, María Mínguez
• Producer: Juanjo Moscardó Rius, Kiko Martínez
• Distributor: Begin Again Films

THE INVISIBLE-INVISIBLES :L.A. Premiere!

Every Thursday morning, Elsa, Julia and Amelia meet up to go for a walk before work. It is a time for them to catch up and talk about their concerns. Despite their differences and disagreements, there is something that bonds them: the age and burden they feel, knowing they are halfway through their lives. The sad feeling that the passing of time has pulled them out of their proper places and cornered them into a space where they feel disoriented, almost lost.

• Year: 2020
• Running time: 84 minutes
• Director: Gracia Querejeta
• Cast: Adriana Ozores, Emma Suárez, Nathalie Poza
• Screenwriter: Gracia Querejeta, Santos Mercero
• Producer: Ignacio Salazar-Simpson, Nephilim Producciones, Ricardo Marco Budé
• Distributor: Feel Content Sales

MOTHER-MADRE-L.A. Premiere!

Mother is an expansion of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s 2019 Oscar nominated short in which an anguished mother loses her six-year-old-son on a beach. Ten years have gone by since Elena’s son has disappeared. The last thing she heard of him was a phone call he gave her, saying that he was lost on a beach in France and couldn’t find his father. Nowadays, Elena lives on this same beach and manages a restaurant. She is finally beginning to emerge from this tragic episode when she meets a French teenager who strongly reminds her of her lost son. The two of them will embark on a relationship, which will show chaos and distrust around them.

• Year: 2019
• Running time: 129 minutes
• Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
• Cast: Marta Nieto, Àlex Brendemühl, Jules Porier 
• Screenwriter: Isabel Peña, Rodrigo Sorogoyen
• Producer: María del Puy Alvarado, Anne-Laure Labadie, Ibón Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé, Jean Labadie, Jérôme Vidal, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Thomas Pibarot
• Distributor: Strand Releasing

ROSA’S WEDDING -LA BODA DE ROSA -L.A Premiere!

Limited viewing window: Oct 23-25,2020.

Rosa, about to turn 45, realizes that she has always lived for others, so she decides to shake things up, leave it all behind, and press the nuclear button. She wants to grab hold of the reins of her life and she wants to embark on a very special commitment: a marriage to herself. But she soon discovers that her father, her siblings and her daughter have their own agenda, and that changing her life is going to be anything but easy since it is not in the family “script”. Getting married, even to herself, is going to be the hardest thing she’s ever done.

• Year: 2020
• Running time: 97 minutes
• Director: Icíar Bollaín
• Cast: Candela Peña, Nathalie Poza, Sergi López
• Screenwriter: Alicia Luna, Icíar Bollaín
• Producer: Cristina Zumárraga, Fernanda Del Nido, Lina Badenes
• Distributor:The Match Factory

DRIVE-INS

Thursday October 22^nd, 2020 

Opening night – Los Angeles Drive-in at the Mission Tiki Drive in Theatre in Montclair, CA

Location: Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre 10798 Ramona Ave. Montclair, CA 91763

We are kicking off Recent Spanish cinema with Two New 4K Restorations by filmmaker Alex de la Iglesia!

THE DAY OF THE BEAST + PERDITA DURANGO (Double feature)

• L.A. DRIVE-IN EXCLUSIVE – Two New 4K Restorations!
• Showings: Thu, Oct 22nd, 7:30 PM
• Co-presented by the American Cinematheque, ICAA, EGEDA US and the Mission Tiki Drive in Theatre!
• Director: Alex de la Iglesia

THE DAY OF THE BEAST- EL DÍA DE LA BESTIA/ 1995, 99 min, Spain/Italy, Dir: Álex de la Iglesia.

Two-thousand years after the birth of Christ, the Anti-Christ is about to be born – unless Father Ángel Berriartúa (Álex Angulo) can stop it. The Basque priest believes he can prevent the apocalypse by infiltrating the ranks of the devil, though that will require him to trade in his pious life for one of non-stop sin. Aided by a heavy metal fan (Santiago Segura) and an occult TV show host (Armando De Razza), Ángel raises hell through Madrid as Christmas Eve – and the possible end of the world – approaches in Álex de la Iglesia’s wickedly funny cult classic.

PERDITA DURANGO-DANCE WITH THE DEVIL/ 1997, 129 min, Mexico/Spain, Dir: Álex de la Iglesia.

Álex de la Iglesia’s first English-language feature stars Rosie Perez as Perdita Durango, whose trip to Mexico is sidelined by all-purpose felon Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem). Perdita’s new beau traffics human fetuses to Las Vegas where they’re turned into cosmetics; naturally they need a couple of human sacrifices to do the job right. But nothing goes according to plan as law enforcement and Dolorosa’s underworld associates converge on the pair. Shocking, satirical and action-packed, this road movie offers plenty for Perez and Bardem to sink their teeth into, and they’re supported by a great cast including James Gandolfini, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Santiago Segura.

• Distributor: Severin Films
• Thursday, October 29^th,2020 at 7:30 PM
• Closing Night – Miami Drive-in  Exclusive at the  Drive-in at The Fair 

Location: Drive-in at The Fair Miami Dade Fairgrounds 10901 SW 24 Street Miami, Florida 33165

We are closing Recent Spanish Cinema 2020 with the U.S. Premiere of ONE CAREFUL OWNER (EL INCOVENIENTE), winner of four awards at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival including the Audience Award.

ONE CAREFUL OWNER – EL INCOVENIENTE

Miami Drive-in Exclusive! U.S. Premiere! Showing time: October 29^th, 2020 at 7:30 PM at the Drive-in at The Fair.

This heartwarming tale of intergenerational friendship follows Sara (Juana Acosta), who has the opportunity to buy the perfect house: spacious, very bright and extremely cheap. It only has one small drawback: Lola (Kiti Mánver), the current owner of the house, is an octogenarian who wants to live in it until she dies. Still, Sara thinks it’s a good deal and decides to buy and wait. As so many things in life, things don’t turn out exactly as expected and the two women will form an unlikely relationship filled with emotion and lots of laughs. This sparkling debut from Bernabé Rico won four prizes at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival including the Audience Award.

• Year: 2020
• Running time: 94 minutes
• Director: Bernabé Rico
• Cast: Juana Acosta, Kiti Mánver, Jose Sacristán, Daniel Grao, Carlos Areces.
• Screenwriter: Bernabé Rico, Juan Carlos Rubio
• Producer: Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo 
• Distributor: Filmax 

LIVE VIRTUAL PANELS-As part of the Recent Spanish Cinema 2020 series in Los Angeles & Miami, we convene an online panel of industry leaders to discuss the current state of Ibero-American cinema in the U.S. and a live discussion with this year’s filmmakers.

TALENT PANEL:  On Saturday, 10/24 (11 AM L.A./2 PM Miami/ 8 PM Madrid):

Join us for a live zoom discussion with this year’s talent and filmmakers. Panelists TBC.

 Link to RSVP : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/123527097875

INDUSTRY PANEL: On Sunday, 10/25 (11 AM L.A./2 PM Miami/ 8 PM Madrid).

Co-presented by FICG in LA. Hear the latest about Ibero-American productions and the promotion of Spanish language films internationally. Learn about the different strategies the film industries of U.S., Latin-America and Spain have for dealing with COVID_19. And find out how Hollywood perception of the Ibero-American Film Industry aligns with reality.

Moderator Ximena Urrutia, Director of FICG in LA.

Panelists include Paul Hudson of Outsider Pictures, Mexican actor and filmmaker Humberto Busto, casting director Carla Hool,   “Schoolgirls” producer Valérie Delpierre,

ICAA Marketing Director Tito Rodriguez and EGEDA US and Premios Platino Executive Director Elvi Cano. Additional panelists to be confirmed.

Link to RSVP : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/123522907341