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What to watch at this year's Película Spanish Film Festival

By Bong Godinez

The 20th edition of the Película Spanish Film Festival will run online for the second consecutive year.

Running from October 1 to 10, this year's installment ups the ante by expanding to Thailand, Australia, and Malaysia to broaden audience reach.

“This year again, due to the unprecedented circumstances brought by the pandemic and the warm welcome of the viewers of Película's last year's online edition, we come back again with the same format,” said Javier Galván Guijo, director of The Instituto Cervantes in Manila, in an online press conference.

“In this regard, we will continue to have regional dimension as our embassies in Australia, in Malaysia, and in Thailand, will participate in a joint effort with us.”

Viewers will have access to 16 feature films and four short films for free through the festival's official website.

Here are some of the films in this year's festival that you shouldn't miss:

El Cover

Photo by: IMDb

Dani is a young man with an inner conflict that paralyzes him: he loves music, but he is afraid of failing like his father and grandfather. That summer, between his job as a waiter and nights with friends, he meets Adele. With her, he discovers the struggle of singers and love.

On this Side of the World

Photo by: Cineuropa

A young engineer hides his dissmissal from work from his partner. To cover it up, he doesn't hesitate to take an out-of-town assignment that is going to change his way of looking at the world.

One More Time

Photo by: IMDb

April returns home for her grandmother's funeral and when she reconnects with her old life, she begins to think about recovering everything she left behind when she left for London five years ago in search of a future.

Lina from Lima

Photo by: The Guardian

The theme of labor migration takes on a light touch in this musical comedy about a Peruvian woman working as a domestic worker in Chile preparing for a trip home to visit the son she left behind. She realizes that her family does not need her as before. For the first time and far from home, Lina begins to redefine herself as a woman and as a migrant.

Dark and Bright

Photo by: Primed

This documentary by Madrid-born Samuel Alarcón covers the last days of Goya and tells about the mystery that surrounded the exhumation of his body, years after his death when it was discovered that someone had stolen the skull of the famous painter.

Antonio Machado, The Blue Days

Photo by: Film Affinity

A documentary feature film that recovers the memory and work of Antonio Machado, on the 80th anniversary of his death. The life of the poet as a symbol of Spain that was lost: a hymn to the importance of culture for life, for progress, and for creating a better society.

Tarang

Photo by: Interfilm Berlin

Rodel, a pedicab driver, works alongside his wife Aya, a prostitute, in a place where, hopefully, they can earn just enough to survive. The film is directed by Arvin Belarmino.

Groundhog Night

Photo by: Eventive

For caregiver Gary, moving on and keeping the family together is not always easy. The situation seems untenable when his last wife's relatives come home unannounced, precisely when he is out on a date.

Also included in the roster of films to watch are Watch the Birds, Invisible, Sad, 15 Hours, Ane, Aninsri Daeng, and To Face.

Viewers can also watch the movies Champions, Off the Chart, The Secret in their Eyes, Also the Rain, and A Chinese Story, all under the Audience Award category.

The 20th Película Spanish Film Festival will also hold free webinars and online talks with film directors and industry personalities sharing their insights.

On October 4, a round-table discussion tackling the prospects of co-production of Asian films in Europe and Spanish movies in Asia.

“Encorto: Short Films in the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, and Spain” scheduled on October 7 will be graced by directors from each of the mentioned countries.

Meanwhile, the Department of European Languages of the University of the Philippines Diliman is holding a contest of film reviews in Spanish. The contest is open to students of Spanish in the Philippines.

For screening schedules, details, and more information, visit www.pelikula.es, or the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes.

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Did you know that OPM singer-songwriter Kitchie Nadal is currently residing in Spain? Take a look at the “Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin” singer's minimalist home in Madrid in this gallery.