Pelicula Spanish Film Festival returns with free screenings on October 5

The Pelicula>Pelikula Spanish Film Festival is back this October for its 23rd edition.

The festival, organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, will be screening free films from October 5 to 13 at Cinema 2, Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City.

Pelicula 2024's 25-film lineup comprises mostly Spanish films spanning various genres, with a couple of Latin American and Philippine films in the mix, too.

The film festival will kick off with a screening of Pablo Berger's acclaimed animated film, "Robot Dreams," on Day 1. The Spanish film is based on Sara Varon's graphic novel about a dog in Manhattan who creates a robot, which it befriends.

Documentaries will also be showcased at the film fest, namely Luis Roca's "Benito Pérez Buñuel" and José Luis López-Linares' "Hispanoamérica, canto de vida y esperanza" and "Rioja, the Land of a Thousand Wines."

A highlight of the film fest is the "Encounters in Film: In short" screening, which features four short films from the Philippines, Spain, and Colombia.

The shorts include "Primetime Mother" and "Transients" by Filipino filmmakers Sonny Calvento and Kyla Romero, "The Sistine" by Juan Camilo Fonnegra, and "Even Though it is Nighttime" by Guillermo García López.

Theater and opera enthusiasts can also look forward to Instituto Cervantes and Teatro Real's (the Spanish Royal Theater) presentation of "Spanish Theater Creators," which comprises four films featuring recordings of operas and ballets.

These are "Fuenteovejuna" and "Carmen" by the company of Antonio Gades and "El amor brujo" by the company of Victor Ullate, as well as "El publico," directed by Pablo Heras-Casado and Roberto Castro. "El publico" is an opera based on the text of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, with music by composer Mauricio Sotelo.

Viewers can vote for their favorite films, with the Audience Choice Award to be bestowed on the film with the highest ratings on October 13.

To be guided, here is the screening schedule of The Pelicula>Pelikula Spanish Film Festival.

October 5

• 5 p.m. - "Fuenteovejuna"
• 7:30 p.m. - "Robot Dreams"

October 6

• 2:30 p.m. - "Carmen"
• 5 p.m. - "7 mesas de billar frances" by Gracia Querejeta
• 7:30 p.m. - "La llegada (Upon Entry)" by Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vasquez

October 7  

• 2:30 p.m. - "Loli Tormenta (Stormy Lola)" by Agustí Villaronga
• 5 p.m. - "20,000 especies de abejas (20,000 Species of Bees)" by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
• 7:30 p.m. - "Te estoy amando locamente (Love & Revolution)" by Alejandro Marin

October 8

• 2:30 p.m. - "Benito Pérez Buñuel"
• 5 p.m. - "Hispanoamerica, canto de vida y esperanza (Latin America, a Song of Life and Hope)"
• 7:30 p.m. - "Las hijas (Sister &Sister)" by Kattia González

October 9

• 2:30 p.m. - "El amor brujo (A Love Bewitched)"
• 5 p.m. - "Cerrar los ojos (Close Your Eyes)" by Victor Erice
• 7:30 p.m. - "Pacarrete" by Allan Deberton

October 10

• 2:30 p.m. - "El maestro que prometio el mar (The Teacher Who Promised the Sea)" by Patricia Font
• 5 p.m. - "La estrella azul (The Blue Star)" by Javier Macipe
• 7:30 p.m. - "La llegada (Upon Entry)" by Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vasquez

October 11

• 2:30 p.m. - "El publico"
• 5 p.m. - "Dispararon al pianista (They Shot the Piano Player)" by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• 7:30 p.m. - "Puan" by María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat

October 12

• 2:30 p.m. - "Robot Dreams"
• 5 p.m. - "Casa en llamas (A House on Fire)" by Dani de la Orden
• 7:30 p.m. - "Rioja, la tierra de los mil vinos (Rioja, the Land of a Thousand Wines)"

October 13

• 2:30 p.m. - "Encuentros en el cine: En corto (Encounters in Film: In short)"
• 5 p.m. - Premio del Publico (Audience Choice Award)
• 7:30 p.m. - "La estrella azul (The Blue Star)"

— CDC, GMA Integrated News