From this June to July, the Spanish Film Festival presented by Palace returns with a curated selection of films from Spain and Latin America. Screening nationally from 14 June, the following films are our first sneak peek into the programme which will screen at Brisbane’s Palace James St and Barracks Cinemas.
Adding some spice to the start of winter, the 2023 Festival opens with the Australian premiere of TWO MANY CHEFS (La vida padre), a delicious comedy set in Bilbao’s world of high cuisine. The Spanish box office hit stars Karra Elejalde and Enric Auquer as a father and son whose unexpected reunion after thirty years apart puts their ideas about cooking and life to the test.
The two Special Presentations of the 2023 line up are both exceptional dramas. Five-time Goya Award-winner and Spanish box office hit thriller PRISON 77 (Modelo 77) from Alberto Rodríguez (Marshland) follows a young accountant, played by Miguel Herrán from hit Netflix series Money Heist, awaiting trial for embezzlement in 1977. Whilst incarcerated, he joins a group of prisoners demanding amnesty.
THE KINGS OF THE WORLD (Los reyes del mundo) won the 2022 San Sebastian Film Festival’s Best Film award and was also Colombia’s 2022 Oscars submission. Laura Mora’s gritty and intense drama follows five Medellín teenagers from the streets who seek a place in the world and set out on an adventure in search of the promised land.
MY FATHER’S MEXICAN WEDDING (La novia de América), from the Cine Latino section, is a hilarious romantic comedy starring Miren Ibarguren. Two Spanish siblings travel to Mexico to attend the wedding of their father to a woman he met online, but what they find there is not what they expected.
Featuring a brilliant cast led by Festival favourite Paco León, STARING AT STRANGERS (No mires a los ojos) is dripping with intrigue and surprises. León stars as a man spying on a family from inside a closet, becoming a mysterious presence in their lives.
There will be a special preview on Wednesday 7 June, before the festival officially opens, of the new romantic comedy FOUR’S A CROWD (El cuarto pasajero). In this Spanish box office hit from Álex de la Iglesia, a 50-year-old divorcee with financial problems begins sharing his car with strangers via an app on a trip to Madrid, but trouble ensues when he adds new passengers.
The 2023 Spanish Film Festival will take place nationally from 14 June to 12 July in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Brisbane and Byron Bay.
The full programme will be announced and tickets on sale Wednesday 17 May.
Tickets for the festival preview go on sale on Wednesday 10 May.
Spanish Film Festival 2023
Canberra 14 June – 5 July: Palace Electric Cinema.
Adelaide 14 June – 5 July: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas.
Brisbane 14 June – 5 July: Palace James Street and Palace Barracks.
Melbourne 15 June-5 July: The Astor Theatre, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Palace Balwyn and Pentridge Cinema.
Perth 15 June – 5 July: Palace Raine Square Cinemas, Luna Leederville and Luna on SX.
Byron Bay 15 June – 5 July: Palace Byron Bay.
Sydney 20 June – 12 July: Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Palace Central and Chauvel Cinema.
www.spanishfilmfestival.com
