News

Una feel good movie sobre la aceptación de uno mismo y de los demás. © Caramel Films

Arranca el rodaje en Sevilla y Canarias de la película 9 lunas, dirigida por Patricia Ortega (Mamacruz) con un guion que ha coescrito junto a José Ortuño (Normas para una página de sucesos) y Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo (productor de Los últimos románticos y Fin de fiesta).

9 lunas sigue a Ángel, un joven y atractivo entrenador personal al que la vida le sonríe. Tras un año sabático, acaba de ser contratado por el mejor gimnasio de la ciudad, y todo parece ir sobre ruedas. Pero su mundo da un vuelco cuando empieza a encontrarse mal, acude al hospital y recibe una noticia inesperada: está embarazado. Y es que, en realidad, Ángel es un hombre trans al que solo le faltaba un último paso para completar su transición y ahora deberá enfrentarse a una decisión que pondrá a prueba su identidad,...

Una abogada sufre un episodio de Toc durante un juicio decisivo. © Atresmedia

Atresmedia ha compartido el primer tráiler de Perdiendo el juicio, su nueva serie original.

Perdiendo el juicio es un drama jurídico que narra el momento en el que Amanda (Rivera), una prestigiosa abogada, sufre un grave estallido de su Toc (trastorno obsesivo compulsivo) durante un importante juicio. A partir de ese momento, su carrera cae en picado y tendrá que afrontar nuevos retos y, prácticamente, una nueva vida.

La serie, que cuenta con 10 episodios de 50 minutos cada uno, está protagonizada por Elena Rivera (Sequía). En el reparto también figuran Manu Baqueiro (Amar es para siempre), Miquel Fernández (Durante la tormenta), Lucía Caraballo (Las largas sombras), Daniel Ibáñez (Segundo premio), Alfonso Lara (Sueños de libertad), Carol Rovira (Amar es para siempre) y Dafne Fernández (4 estrellas). Lo completan María Pujalte, María León, Eloy Azorín, Luis Bermejo, Federico Aguado, Antonio Garrido o Clara Garrido,...

Madrid-based Onza, one of Spain’s top indie production-distribution houses, has kicked off filming on Season 2 of hit gridlock comedy series “Traffic Jam” (“Atasco), which is set to premiere on Prime Video Spain.

It has also shared on-set photos in exclusivity with Variety.

Launched May 24 on Prime Video Spain, the first season of the series hit No. 1 on the platform the day after, with an audience warming to the unexpected, comical and engaging stories that unfold in a huge traffic jam on the outskirts of Madrid.

Written and directed by Rodrigo Sopeña, as the series’ Season 1, the six new episodes continue the producers’ bet on a renowned Spanish star cast, this time featuring Silvia Abril, Carlos Sobera (“Little Coincidences”), Adriana Torrebejano, Carlos Areces (“The Last Circus”), Luis Zahera and singer-actress Edurne.

Some actors from Season 1 will reprise their roles in Season 2, the producers said.

Season 1’s stellar cast featured prominent...

Una abogada sufre un episodio de Toc durante un juicio decisivo. © Atresmedia

Atresmedia anuncia la fecha de estreno de Perdiendo el juicio, su nueva serie original, y lanza el primer póster.

Perdiendo el juicio es un drama jurídico que narra el momento en el que Amanda (Rivera), una prestigiosa abogada, sufre un grave estallido de su Toc (trastorno obsesivo compulsivo) durante un importante juicio. A partir de ese momento, su carrera cae en picado y tendrá que afrontar nuevos retos y, prácticamente, una nueva vida.

La serie, que cuenta con 10 episodios de 50 minutos cada uno, está protagonizada por Elena Rivera (Sequía). En el reparto también figuran Manu Baqueiro (Amar es para siempre), Miquel Fernández (Durante la tormenta), Lucía Caraballo (Las largas sombras), Daniel Ibáñez (Segundo premio), Alfonso Lara (Sueños de libertad), Carol Rovira (Amar es para siempre) y Dafne Fernández (4 estrellas). Lo completan María Pujalte, María León, Eloy Azorín, Luis Bermejo,...

Primer vistazo al drama judicial. © Atresmedia

Antena 3 finaliza el rodaje de Perdiendo el juicio, su nueva serie original, y lanza las primeras imágenes.

Perdiendo el juicio es un drama jurídico que narra el momento en el que Amanda (Rivera), una prestigiosa abogada, sufre un grave estallido de su Toc (trastorno obsesivo compulsivo) durante un importante juicio. A partir de ese momento, su carrera cae en picado y tendrá que afrontar nuevos retos y, prácticamente, una nueva vida.

La serie, que cuenta con 10 episodios de 50 minutos cada uno, está protagonizada por Elena Rivera (Sequía). En el reparto también figuran Manu Baqueiro (Amar es para siempre), Miquel Fernández (Durante la tormenta), Lucía Caraballo (Las largas sombras), Daniel Ibáñez (Segundo premio), Alfonso Lara (Sueños de libertad), Carol Rovira (Amar es para siempre) y Dafne Fernández (4 estrellas). Lo completan María Pujalte, María León, Eloy Azorín, Luis Bermejo, Federico Aguado, Antonio Garrido o Clara Garrido,...

From the day that Christopher Columbus set sail from Huelva to beach up in the Caribbean, the Spanish city has always had strong ties to Latin America.

With Spain still laboring under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, when a group of young film buffs at Huelva’s Film Club aimed to galvanize the city’s culture, “It was logical that we looked to the richness and plenitude of culture that came from abroad,” recalls José Luis Ruíz Díaz, Huelva’s first director. “It was also logical that we had a large interest in Latin America, adds Vicente Quiroga, its longtime head of press. Relaxing, censorship in Spain also allowed access to a suddenly broader sweep of foreign titles.

Huelva’s first 50 editions have proved a faithful reflection of the evolution of cinema in Latin America, Portugal and Spain. Some milestones:

1975: Ruíz Díaz launches Huelva’s first Ibero-American Film Week with Argentina’s “La Raulito.

The sophomore edition of Spain’s South International Series Festival, unspooling in Cadiz from Oct. 25-30, will spotlight Andalusia’s burgeoning audiovisual sector.

More than twenty festival activities will focus on the Andalusian audiovisual sector, with industry panels, screenings and talks highlighting the strength of the region’s output.

While presenting this year’s festival poster, Sisf’s director Joan Alvarez declared that Andalusia is entering its “Hollywood moment.” The buzzy timing in the region sees not only increased production in the South but also greater support from local bodies such as Junta Andalusia and Andalusia’s public broadcaster Canal Sur, plus the creation of events like the South International Series Festival, which offers a gathering place for local industry heads.

“We believe it’s a great opportunity for European producers to focus on what is going on in Andalusia,” Head of Programming and Industry at Sisf Carles Montiel told...

Hulu has shared the official trailer and key art for the Spanish drama series Fleeting Lies, which will make its U.S. debut on the streaming service on Thursday, October 10. Pedro Almodóvar produces the show.

When Lucia, an executive at a high-tech beauty company, goes to work expecting a promotion and winds up accused of corporate espionage and unceremoniously fired, she goes to great lengths to hide her shame and clear her name.

Also known as Mentiras pasajeras, the series stars Elena Anaya, Pilar Castro, Hugo Silva, Quim Gutiérrez, and Susi Sánchez. The guest stars include María Botto, Pedro Casablanc, Estefanía de los Santos, and María León.

One month before her wedding and the day of her supposed big promotion, Lucía is accused of corporate espionage and fired from her job. Suddenly, Lucía’s life and future take a drastic turn for the worst, as she ponders how to tell her fiancé,...

"I lost my best friend, but I also lost my movie." Film Movement has revealed the official US trailer for an exceptionally great Spanish indie film titled Close Your Eyes, the first feature film in more than 30 years from an acclaimed Spanish filmmaker named Víctor Erice (The Spirit of the Beehive). It first premiered last year at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, though only out of competition despite being such a strong film that many said should've been in competition. After playing at festivals all over the world all last year, FM will debut Close Your Eyes in limited US theaters end of August to start. A reflective culmination of Erice's career in film, Close Your Eyes is a haunting meditation on memory, absence, and the enduring resonance of the moving image. A Spanish actor disappears during the filming of a movie. Although he is never found, the police believe he went off a cliff.

Una serie que promete humor, caos y mucha diversión. © Prime Video

Ya está disponible el tráiler y póster oficial de la nueva serie original de Prime Video “Atasco”.

La comedia de 6 episodios, de 25 minutos de duración cada uno, nos sumerge en el caos que genera un gran atasco nocturno que interrumpe los planes de miles de ciudadanos a las afueras de Madrid. Esta situación cotidiana será el punto de partida para tramas inesperadas, cómicas y emotivas: unos ladrones no llegarán a tiempo a la joyería que pretenden atracar, los operarios de una grúa renunciarán a su escarceo amoroso, un conductor de ambulancia buscará desesperadamente un Wc, un food truck no llegará a su destino…

Más de 25 actores de la comedia española se unen bajo la dirección de Rodrigo Sopeña (“La Habitación de Fermat”) en una serie donde cada personaje es protagonista de su propia historia autoconclusiva. El reparto coral incluye a Edu Soto,...

When faced with an overwhelmingly unexpected situation where the law and order of the state are involved, we are psychologically conditioned to do one of two things. Either confront it head-on or let it decide the course of our lives. Whichever option we choose will define us as the kind of humans we aspire to be. In Spanish filmmaker Elías León Siminiani’s The Asunta Case, another true crime thriller streaming on Netflix, a middle-aged couple is accused of murdering their adopted child. This upended their world instantly, and they had to suffer the wrath of the legal system. At the moment, they choose to fight to prove their innocence. The six-episode web series is based on a real-life incident that created a stir in Spain in 2013. It can be christened an intriguing miniseries, and the style and the pacing are engineered to heighten our curiosity. But beyond the pale of integrity and intentions,...

In an acquisition which underscores the often shared sensibility between Canal+, France’s biggest pay TV operator, and Movistar Plus+, the largest Spanish pay TV player, Canal+ has acquired Canneseries winner “The Left-Handed Son” (“El hijo zurdo”), a Movistar Plus+ original series.

The series will bow on Canal+ on April 5 in a deal brokered by Movistar Plus+ International.

A psychological thriller with a lyrical undertow which surfaces to moving effect in key scenes, “The Left-Handed Son” marks the auspicious directorial debut of Rafael Cobos, the career-long co-scribe of Alberto Rodríguez, from 2005’s “7 Virgins” through international hit “Marshland” to 2017’s “The Plague,” still one of the biggest series which Movistar Plus+ has ever made.

World premiering at Canneseries in April 2023, “The Left-Handed Son” went on to win best series in the TV festival’s short form competition.

Produced with Átipica Films and co-directed by Paco R. Baños, who helmed four of its six episodes,...

Conoce todos los detalles de la miniserie basada en un crimen real que conmocionó a España. © Netflix

Netflix ha desvelado el impactante tráiler y póster de “El Caso Asunta”, la miniserie de ficción que aborda un crimen real que conmocionó a España.

El 21 de septiembre de 2013, Rosario Porto y Alfonso Basterra denuncian la desaparición de su hija Asunta, cuyo cuerpo aparece horas después junto a una carretera en las afueras de Santiago de Compostela. La investigación policial pronto desvela pistas que señalan a Rosario y Alfonso como posibles autores del crimen. La noticia conmociona a toda la ciudad e incluso al país. ¿Qué puede llevar a unos padres a acabar con la vida de su hija? ¿Qué se esconde tras la fachada de una familia perfecta?

La miniserie de 6 episodios está dirigida por Carlos Sedes (“Fariña”) y Jacobo Martínez, producida por Bambú Producciones y protagonizada por Candela Peña (“Todo sobre mi Madre...

Updated with festival response: Spanish director Victor Erice, who was absent from the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his film Close Your Eyes, has posted an open letter criticizing festival Delegate General Thierry Frémaux over his handling of the selection of his film and explaining his decision not to attend.

Revolving around an investigation into the disappearance of an actor during a film shoot, Close Your Eyes is Erice’s first feature in three decades.

The film premiered to strong reviews on May 22 in the Cannes Premiere sidebar, created in 2021 to welcome films from more established filmmakers, with key cast Helena Miquel, Jose Coronado, Ana Torrent, Manolo Solo and María León in attendance but without Erice.

In an open letter posted on the website of Spain’s El Pais newspaper on Thursday, Erice said he had submitted the film to Official Selection as well as the Cannes parallel section of Directors’ Fortnight.

Roku is continuing its lineup of Spanish-language originals with five new series from creators such as Juanpa Zurita and Jaime Camil. But that’s not all. The streaming player-turned-content hub also announced the premiere date for Season 3 of “Un Millón de Gracias” from Jennifer Lopez. Previously titled “Thanks a Million,” this year will mark the series’ first Spanish-language season as a new batch of celebrities give back to the people who have influenced them the most.

Each episode of “Un Millón de Gracias” follows a different celebrity who has been asked to give away $100,000 to someone who has inspired them by being a hero in their community. But once that person has been gifted $100,000, they will have to give away half of it to someone who has inspired them. This season’s celebrities will include Chiquis, Gina Torres, Jaime Camil, Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, Lauren Jauregui, Michael Peña, Michelle Rodriguez, Pau Gasol,...

Roku expanded its slate of Spanish originals, adding six new unscripted series from Latino voices and creatives including Jennifer Lopez, Juanpa Zurita and Jaime Camil.

The six new original series — “Carpe Dm with Juanpa,” “Desde la Raíz,” “Serenata De Las Estrellas,” “La Divina Comida,” “Batalla en Abuela’s Kitchen,” “Un Millón de Gracias”— feature stars including Wilmer Valderrama, Belinda, Sofia Reyes and Michael Peña.

“The deep engagement we have seen within the Spanish-language content category on The Roku Channel in the U.S., as well as the exceptional growth of the service in Mexico, are all signs of the strong appetite for free ad-supported streaming amongst Spanish-speaking and bilingual audiences,” said David Eilenberg, head of content, Roku Media. “We’re committed to delivering high-quality, culturally relevant original programming to tens of millions of viewers, and we are thrilled to welcome such an exceptional new group of on-camera and off-camera creative...

In the run-up to its Canneseries world premiere, Movistar Plus+ has shared in exclusivity with Variety the international trailer to “The Left Handed Son” (“El hijo zurdo”), the directorial debut of Rafael Cobos, writer of Alberto Rodríguez international hit “Marshland” banner TV series “The Plague.”

Cobos also wrote Rodriguez’s memorable episode in “Offworld,” a market screening at this year’s MipTV.

Movistar Plus+, which produces with José Antonio Félez’s Atipica Films, its partner on “The Plague” and “Prison 1977,” has also announced the release date for “The Left-Handed Son,” whose episodes will all be made available on Movistar Plus+, Spain’s biggest SVOD/pay TV platform, on April 27.

Distribution outside Spain on “The Left-Handed Son” is handled by Movistar Plus+ International.

A six-part short format series, it reps Movistar+’s fourth title at Canneseries in six editions. “The Left Handed Son” delivers a probing, fast-paced psychological thriller which adds...

Cerrar los ojos

After a three-decade-long absence from filmmaking, Victor Erice returns to cinema with what is only his fourth feature. Cerrar los ojos reunites him with the star of his last film (El sol del membrillo): Ana Torrent. Production took place in Granada, Almería, Asturias and Madrid up until December. José Coronado, María León, Petra Martínez, Soledad Villamil, Mario Pardo, Elena Miquel and José María Pou also star in the film. The story of a disappearance, the film revolves “around issues such as identity and memory.”

Gist: This tells the story of how a famous Spanish actor, (José Coronado) disappears during the shoot for a movie.…...

Film Factory Entertainment has picked up international sales rights to Victor Erice’s highly anticipated “Cerrar los ojos,” which marks the fourth feature by the legendary Spanish filmmaker, writer-director of “The Spirit of the Beehive,” reuniting him with Ana Torrent, the wide-eyed very young star of that milestone film.

Now wrapping its shoot in Granada, Almería and Asturias before moving to Madrid, “Cerrar los Ojos” is set for 2023 Spanish theatrical release by “Alcarràs” distributor Avalon.

Erice’s fourth feature, following on 30 years after Cannes Festival Jury Prize winner “El sol del membrillo” (“Dream of Light”), “Cerrar los ojos” is written by Erice and Michel Gaztambide, a Spanish Academy best screenplay Goya Award winner for “No Rest for the Wicked.” The story of a disappearance, the film revolves “around issues such as identity and memory,” its producers announced Monday.

Producer Cristina Zumárraga lead produces the production through Tandem Films, the company...

Rafael Cobos, the co-screenwriter of Alberto Rodríguez’s Goya best picture winner “Marshland” and “The Plague,” one of Movistar Plus’ most ambitious series ever, is getting his own show.

Moving into production on July 18, “El hijo zurdo” stars María León, a stunning 2011 San Sebastian best actress winner for “The Sleeping Voice,” in a series which Cobos describes an “emotional thriller.”

Movistar Plus’ newly announced original is not only written by Cobos but co-directed too in the directorial debut of the Seville-based scribe.

A six part, half hour drama, “El Hijo Zurdo” is scheduled for release first half of 2023. Movistar Plus Internacional is handling worldwide distribution.

Cobos’ career-long relationship with Rodríguez takes in the Spanish director’s 2022 San Sebastian opening movie “Prison 77” and his episode in “Offworld,” a Movistar Plus anthology series which world premieres out of competition at San Sebastián.

Cobos has also co-written “The Unit,” Movistar Plus’ hit action-espionage series,...

Spanish auteur behind the 1973 arthouse hit will direct a new film, Cerrar los Ojos, due for release in 2023

Veteran Spanish director Víctor Erice, best known for 1973 classic The Spirit of the Beehive, is making his first feature film in 30 years, it has been revealed.

El Diario reports that the new project, titled Cerrar los Ojos (Close Your Eyes), is being funded by Canal Sur, the public broadcaster for the Andalusia region of Spain. No information has been divulged as to its content, other than that José Coronado and María León have been cast in the lead roles, and that it is due for release in 2023.

Update: El Pais has shared the first details of the film, which will take a meta approach as we follow a director living in retirement and now enjoying a life of fishing. He left a film in the 1990s unfinished after his star (also a friend from the military) disappeared. A television program investigating his disappearance causes the director to reunite with his former collaborators, leading to an “emotional earthquake.” See the original story below.

There are not many directors who have amassed such a rich contribution to the world of cinema amongst so few films as Víctor Erice. The 82-year-old Spanish director broke out with 1973’s The Spirit of the Beehive, followed by El Sur in 1983 and The Quince Tree Sun in 1992. Now, he’s finally set to return with his first feature in over thirty years.

As revealed by El Diario, Erice is preparing to shoot a new...

As other European TV giants such as the Rtl Group, Spain’s Atresmedia, owner of the Ott service Atresplayer Premium, is finding the sweet spot between auteur and broad audience shows.

Launched two years ago, Atresplayer Premium boasts fast growth in terms of subscriptions – reaching 400,000 users in Spain alone – and content production volume, readying some 20 new TV projects for this year.

Promoting original voices, the platform is winning international visibility. Iconic original series “Veneno,” created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, “Los Javis,” successfully launched on HBO Max in the U.S. and Latin America, with a strong impact on the international media, which contributed to strengthening the Atresplayer brand.

Now, “Cardo,” from creators and writers Claudia Costafreda and Ana Rujas, executive produced by Los Javis after becoming one of the hottest indie series of last year for TV critics and audiences, is close to an important international distribution deal.

Media giant Mediaset has acquired Italian distribution rights to Spanish writer-director Benito Zambrano’s drama “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake,” produced and sold by Barcelona-based studio Filmax.

News of the deal comes just before Filmax screens “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” to buyers at this year’s online European Film Market.

Described as high-quality cinema for adults and predominantly female audiences, “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” adapts the novel of the same title by screenwriter and casting specialist Cristina Campos. It has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide.

A member of Spain’s generation of directors that broke out in the 1990s, helping Spanish movies find far larger favor with audiences at home, Zambrano’s breakout debut, 1999’s “Alone,” won the Panorama Audience Award at Berlin.

He has gone on to make three more features – 2005’s “Havana Blues,” 2011’s “The Sleeping Voice” and 2019’s “Out in the Open” – earning two screenplay Goyas,...

Currently filming in Seville, the project is being produced by La Claqueta and Pecado Films and stars María León, Salva Reina, Rubén Fulgencio and Pedro Casablanc. El universo de Óliver, the first fiction film from Alexis Morante, is currently filming on location in Seville, before heading to Campo de Gibraltar in May to wrap up the shoot. The main cast features María León (The The Sleeping Voice), Salva Reina and Pedro Casablanc (nominated for a Best Actor Goya for his performance in B) along with breakout star Rubén Fulgencio in the titular role, who — like all of the film’s child actors — was selected after a round of auditions with over a thousand hopefuls. In Morante’s own words, “It’s a story that reminds us of the magic and adventure of growing up, an emotional coming-of-age tale...

Barcelona-based studio Filmax has acquired world sales rights to “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake,” an uplifting second chance in life drama from Spain’s Benito Zambrano, writer-director of critically admired features that have scored festival and Goya awards and broken out to sales abroad.

Also handling local distribution in Spain, Filmax will bring “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” onto the market at November’s online American Film Market.

Produced by Filmax and Luxembourg’s Deal Productions, whose credits include Berlin Festival’s 2019 Panorama opener “Flatland” and 2017’s “High Fantasy,” which screened at Berlin, Toronto and Rotterdam, “Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake” turns on two sisters, Anna and Marina.

Separated as teens, they re-meet to sell a bakery in Majorca that they’ve inherited from a mysterious benefactor. Neither are happy in life. Anna is locked in a loveless marriage; Marina travels the world as an Ngo doctor, a lonely existence.

Framing world premieres of “Maragall i la Lluna” and “Wishlist,” plus new movies from Justin Kurzel, Marjane Satrapi, Matteo Garrone and Caroline Link, Barcelona’s Bcn Film Fest aims to become one of the first festivals in Europe to stage a live on-site edition, running June 25 to July 2.

The dates and ambition were re-confirmed Tuesday when Bcn Film Fest, one of the biggest film events in the Catalan capital, announced its lineup.

“One of the most beautiful things about watching films is to do so in a theater as a shared social and cultural experience. To be able to discuss films immediately with people after seeing them. Bcn Film Fest aims to maintain that this year,” said festival artistic director Conxita Casanovas.

While pushing the pleasures of a live event, from the quality of projection and sound to cinema viewing as a social and cultural community event and driver of local economic economy,...

José Coronado, No Rest for the Wicked Pedro Almodóvar didn't have much luck at the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Goya Awards this evening in Madrid: Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In won a total of four Goyas, but none for its director/writer. Starring Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon, Elena Anaya as his captive woman, and Jan Cornet as the good-looking young man whom the doctor blames for the death of his daughter, the sex-bending mystery melodrama won Goyas for Best Actress (Anaya), Best New Actor (Cornet), Best Original Music (Alberto Iglesias, his tenth Goya win), and Best Makeup/Hair. [Full list of Premios Goya winners/nominations.] Instead of the internationally renowned (and BAFTA winner) The Skin I Live In, the 2012 Goyas' big winner was Enrique Urbizu's No habrá paz para los malvados / No Rest for the Wicked, the story of a murderous, corrupt cop. No Rest for the Wicked won Goyas for Best Picture,...

Fernando Tejero, Salma Hayek, As Luck Would Have It No Rest For The Wicked, The Artist, Un Cuento Chino: Goya Award Winners Pt.1 Best Actor Daniel Brühl, Eva Antonio Banderas, The Skin I Live In Luis Tosar, Mientras duermes * José Coronado, No Rest for the Wicked Best Actress Verónica Echegui, Katmandu: un espejo en el cielo * Elena Anaya, The Skin I Live In Inma Cuesta, The Sleeping Voice Salma Hayek, La Chispa de la vida / As Luck Would Have It Best Supporting Actor Juan Diego, 23-f: la película * Lluís Homar, Eva Juanjo Artero, No Rest for the Wicked Raúl Arévalo, Cousins Best Supporting Actress Goya Toledo, Maktub Maribel Verdú, De tu ventana a la mía Pilar López de Ayala, Intruders * Ana Wagener, The Sleeping Voice Best New Actor José Mota, As Luck Would Have It * Jan Cornet, The Skin I Live In Adrián Lastra, Cousins Marc Clotet, The Sleeping...

Isaki Lacuesta's The Double Steps has won the Golden Shell for Best Film at this year's San Sebastián Film Festival. Ronald Bergan will be pleased. In his dispatch from the festival to the House Next Door, he calls it "the best film in the main competition. It was certainly the most original and a refreshing change from the well-worn linear narrative devices of the majority of films. After 2002's Cravan vs. Cravan, his profile of Arthur Cravan, the Swiss-born nephew of Oscar Wilde who achieved fame as both a Dadaist poet and boxer, Lacuesta has now turned to Francois Augièras, the eccentric French writer, painter and explorer, and sometime lover of André Gide. The film follows two parallel lines, one about a group of men trying to locate a mythical bunker buried in the North African desert containing paintings by Augièras, and the other about the artist himself, here played by a black African,...

Last week we broke out news about the international lineup for the official section of the 59th San Sebastian Film Festival. Today we receive word on the Spanish titles that would be showcased at this year's edition including the latest from Enrique Urbizu, Isaki Lacuesta and Nacho Vigalondo (see pic). Competing for the Golden Shell award at the official section we find: “No HABRÁ Paz Para Los Malvados (No Rest For The Wicked)” from Enrique Urbizu, starring José Coronado, Rodolfo Sancho, Helena Miquel and Juanjo Artero. The comeback of one of the most gripping Spanish film noir directors after an eight year absence.“Los Pasos Dobles (The Double Steps)” from Isaki Lacuesta, a fictional documentary taking its inspiration from the biography of French artist and author François Augiéras. The artist painted every inch of the walls of a military bunker in the desert and let it sink into the sand...