MANILA, Philippines—From October 28 to November 23, a selection of movies from “Pelicula-Pelikula 2014,” this year’s Spanish Film Festival presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) will be shown in FDCP movie theaters in Baguio, Ilo-ilo, Zamboanga and Davao.
Since its conception by Instituto Cervantes in 2002, the Spanish Film Festival has been an annual attraction for Manila filmgoers, bringing the best of Spanish and Latin American cinema to the local audience of the Philippine capital. Thanks to the collaboration of the FDCP, a selection of these films featured recently in will travel to other Philippine cities: Baguio, Ilo-ilo, Zamboanga and Davao.
Award winning Spanish director David Trueba during the opening of Pelicula-Pelikula 2014 at Greenbelt 3 in Makati City. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Instituto Cervantes de Manila
The film line-up for this leg of Pelicula at the FDCP Cinematheques is composed of the following films: “Mapa,” “Soldados de Salamina,” “Las aventuras de Tadeo Jones,” “El secreto de sus ojos” and “Un cuento chino”.
“Mapa” is a documentary released by Leon Siminiani in 2012. It follows a young director who is fired from his job in a television company and travels to India with the intention of making his first feature film. Yet he discovers that what he is seeking is not in India but at home, in Madrid. The documentary will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles.
“Las aventuras de Tadeo Jones” is an animation film for kids. Mistaken for a famous archaeologist, Tadeo Jones is sent to Peru on an expedition. With his faithful dog Jeff and a few friends he tries to save the lost city of the Incas from the evil treasure-hunters. The film will be shown in English.
The Festival has traditionally been graced by the presence of Spanish filmmakers. On October 10th, the Spanish director David Trueba presented three of his movies and had an open forum after the screening.
His film entitled, “Soldados de Salamina,” will be exhibited again at the FDCP cinematheques. The film is about a young female novelist who is tracking the story of Rafael Sánchez Mazas, a right-wing writer sentenced during the Spanish Civil War to be executed but managed to escape and hide in the woods.
She finds out that the tasked soldier encounters him in the forest, but lets him escape. The novelist tries to put the pieces of this puzzle together, plagued with contradictions and enigmatic characters. Unaware that while seeks Sánchez Mazas’ truth, she too is finding herself. This film will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles.
A classic of “Pelicula” is the “Audience Choice Award”. During the Festival, the audience has the chance to choose their favorite film. This year’s winning entry is the comedy “La gran familia española.”
Movie enthusiasts in Baguio, Ilo-ilo, Zamboanga and Davao will have the chance to enjoy two gems that have been chosen as winners of the “Audience Choice Award” in previous editions—“El secreto de sus ojos” and “Un cuento chino.”
“La gran familia española” is Pelicula-Pelikula 2014’s “Audience Choice” awardee. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/IC Manila
Directed by Juan José Campanella in 2009, “El secreto de sus ojos” won the Goya Award for the Best Latin American Film and the Oscars for the Best Foreign Language Film. Benjamin Esposito, a judicial employee, starts writing a novel about a crime he witnessed years ago.
Writing the book about the murder, which took place in Buenos Aires in 1974, leads him to investigate his own past and a period of Argentina’s history marked by violence and death and where nothing was what it seemed to be. The movie will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles.
“Un cuento chino (A Chinese Tall Tale)” is a comedy directed by Argentina’s Sebastián Borensztein in 2011. Roberto is a war veteran who lives a very monotonous life but all that is about to change when he meets Jun, a young Chinese man who cannot speak a word of Spanish and who has no place to go to in central Buenos Aires. The film will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles.
Presented by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), “Pelicula” at the FDCP Cinematheques is made possible by Emperador Distillers, San Miguel Corporation, Vibal Foundation and Qatar Airways, in collaboration with New World Hotel, Alba’s Restaurante Español and Espa-Fil.
For the schedule and further information on these screenings please visit the official website of Instituto Cervantes (www.manila.cervantes.es) or log on to its Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila
RELATED STORIES
Pelicula 2014 to open with Goya Best Picture
Pelicula Spanish Film Festival unfolds from Oct. 10 to 19