Spanish Film Festival 2021

Watch your way through 29 movies from Spain and Latin America, including an award-winning rom-com, twisty thrillers and Gael García Bernal's latest.
Sarah Ward
April 19, 2021

Overview

Australian cinephiles are well and truly accustomed to seeing the rest of the world via the big screen but, after the past year, 2021's Spanish Film Festival really couldn't be more welcome. And, it won't just transport movie buffs to the country that gives the annual filmic showcase its name. Twenty features from Spain are definitely on the bill, but so are nine from Latin America.

That gives Brisbanites plenty of movie-watching options come Wednesday, April 18, when the fest kicks off its local season for this year. You'll have until Sunday, May 16 to head to Palace Barracks and Palace James Street, tuck into some popcorn, enjoy everything from award-winning rom-coms to twisty thrillers, and pretend that you're somewhere other than your own city.

Highlights include road movie Wishlist, starring Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'s Victoria Abril; romantic comedies Rosa's Wedding and The Wedding Unplanner, because matrimony seems to be a theme; Goya Award-winner Schoolgirls, which took out the gong for Best Film; and While At War, the latest film from The Others director Alejandro Amenábar. Heroic Losers serves up a charming heist comedy starring the always engaging Ricardo Darín (Everybody Knows), while the 1950s–70s-set The Moneychanger delivers a satirical twist on crime epics.

If you're only going to see one movie, though, make it Ema — not just because it stars Gael García Bernal and is directed by No, The Club, Neruda and Jackie filmmaker Pablo Larraín, but because this tale about a dancer (Mariana Di Girolamo) is a simply stunning piece of cinema.

Information

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