Film Countries Archives: Spain

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A woman holds a phone to her ear, her face lined with concern.

Hard Truths

  Mike Leigh

  United Kingdom, Spain     97 minutes

Synopsis

For his 23rd film, legendary British filmmaker Mike Leigh returns to the stark domestic dramas he’s known for, like his 1971 feature debut Bleak Moments (a ChicagoIFF Gold Hugo winner) and his blistering, Cannes-winning 1993 breakthrough Naked. Reunited with Leigh for the first time since his 1996 multiple Oscar nominee Secrets and Lies, the astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. In stark contrast, Pansy’s easygoing younger sister Michele is a single mother whose family life and hair salon are brimming with warmth.

Fierce, compassionate, and often darkly humorous, Hard Truths takes us into the intensities of kinship, duty, and the most enduring of human mysteries: that even through lifetimes of hurt and hardship, we still find ways to love those we call family.

 English 

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Film Credits

  •   Georgina Lowe
  •   Mike Leigh
  •   Tania Reddin
  •   Dick Pope BSC
  •   Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, Jonathan Livingstone
  •   Gary Yershon
  •   Richard Kondal, Jennifer Eriksson, Alison Thompson, Mark Gooder, Andrew Karpen, Kent Sanderson, Javier Méndez, Javier Pons, Ollie Madden, Daniel Battsek, Gail Egan
  •   Cornerstone, Film4, Mediapro, Thin Man Films, Creativity Media
  •   https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/hard-truths

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Rosa’s Wedding La boda de Rosa

  Icíar Bollaín

  Spain      2020    

Synopsis

Facing her 45th birthday, Rosa has a startling revelation. She is unhappy. Between long work hours and caring for her elderly father, there’s little time left for herself. Drastic measures are in order. The plan? To get married, wedding and all, to herself. Equal parts human, hilarious, and inspirational, Rosa’s Wedding is an affecting story of independence and self-determination.

 Spanish, Valencian with subtitles 
  97 minutes

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CineYouth Program

Thinking Funny: Comedy

  Australia, Spain, United States     6 shorts | 62 minutes

Synopsis

Navigating life and tragedy, these hilarious stories showcase characters in absurdist situations of all kinds. Thrown into the trenches of the human experience, our characters rise victorious holding the holy grail of humor in their hands.

Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

A lonesome turtle rides down a parking lot on a skateboard.

Goodbye Herman

Ryan Santia | California | Age 18

As Ryan shares the news of his departure, Herman comes to terms with this unexpected change in their friendship.

An animated character's heart beats aggressively as she lounges on a live action counter top riddled with records and CD's.

Ladke

Sruchi Patel | California | Age 22

In a twist of the classic Cinderella story, Saloni seeks out the boy with the flyest Nikes having never seen his face.

The profile of a young woman's face is backlit by a soft purple light

first date?

Kylie Ramirez | Chicago | Age 21

Dropped in the throes of Gen Z dating culture, Sammy and Kari explore the different facets of romantic relationships through their scintillating discussion.

A concerned younger woman comforts an stressed older man as he caresses his own hand in a nice and neat kitchen.

Contagious Swagger

Calvin Callins Jr. | Florida | Age 21

While Jeffrey tries to make the best impression on his girlfriend’s parents, his shoes prove to be an unexpected ally in the situation.

A robed altar boy turns away from a frightened young man, who stands in the doorway. An older priest stands by a cross.

Body of Christ (Mi primera comunión)

Ángel Villahermosa | Spain | Age 22

As Pablo falls in love with the altar boy Sebastián, he finds that God has become an obstacle to their relationship in more ways than one.

A woman holding a sign labeled "Don't Listen To Him" stands next to a well dressed man in a theater.

The Murder

Alex Dymalovski | Australia | Age 20

About eight minutes before her murder, a woman takes us on a journey to confront her killer’s arduous masculinity.

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CineYouth Program

Pen, Pencil, Pixel: Animation

  Australia, Spain, United States     10 shorts | 47 minutes

Synopsis

Across these eleven shorts, you’ll find no single genre, theme, or medium, but you will find fantastical worlds, disarming emotional honesty, and vibrant displays of creativity. Whether drawn by hand, sculpted with clay, or animated digitally, these inventive shorts are sure to entertain and inspire.

Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

A lego-animated hooded figure in a black cloak stands in front of a broken glass case.

Kaine Interception

Johnny White & Harry White | Colorado | Ages 16 & 14

In this Lego stop-motion actioner, secret agent Kaine and his mysterious new partner April race to interrupt a jewel heist.

An AI generated image of two white horses in a forest, bathed in an eerie glow staring in the distance

La infancia

Jesús García Nuño de la Rosa & Emiliano Reyes | Spain | Age 22

A man in a dark house is surrounded by an ethereal forest. Animals wander, children play, and fires burn. Is any of this real?

A black and white drawing of a spotlight shining on a plant, which is being rained on.

Weathered

Patrick Jang | California | Age 16

Teenagers share stories of adversity, resilience, and personal transformation in vulnerable interviews supported by vivid animation.

A zombie clay person stands impaled on pencil with another man, surrounded by paper houses.

Attack of the Living Clay

Jackson Milott | New York | Age 16

In a tiny household world, a clay man improvises ingenious, violent methods to fight off a horde of zombies.

A distorted, shadowy image of a large statue of a cross towering over a line of trees.

Why so blu

Danielle Arianna Picernos | Chicago | Age 22

Blue brushstrokes on film capture life and loss.

A hand-drawn robot boy stares, eye-twitching, body glitching, surrounded by pink-purple colour pencil strokes.

Trigonometry’s Ultimate Method to Putting the Fun Back in Your Own Funeral

April Aquino | Chicago | Age 22

Trigonometry’s untimely death inspires him to go out with one last hurrah, crashing his own funeral.

A digitally animated girl sleeps on her bed, her phone idle in the distance.

Twenty Twenty Three — To The Lighthouse

Chengyu Li | Ohio | Age 16

Drowning and stressed, a high school student asks herself, “Am I going crazy?”

A wide-eyed oulined ghost glowing, surrounded by hand-drawn images.

Treasure Haunt

Carlos Lerma | Chicago | Age 20

Longing for a single hug, a man traverses all boundaries and drinks the ghost potion, flying towards his love.

A cutout animated woman stands contemplating as stars hang and a bird perches on the tree behind her.

Headlands

Cecelia Clare | California | Age 20

Waves of nostalgia wash over an old woman as she dives deep into the water of her youth.

A young man in a flying suit swerves on his hoverboard.

Echoes in the Sand

Miles Isgrig | New York | Age 22

Hell-bent on finding his parents, Peter rebels against his robot guardian, bounding toward the voices in the desert.

A little boy in a foetal position as a dotted line snake is drawn around him.

Snake

Lewis Fuller Hill | Australia | Age 22

In a heartfelt visual letter penned to his mother, a man dreams of her voice and of snakes in a field.

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You Have to Come and See It Tenéis que venir a verla

  Jonás Trueba

  Spain      2022    

Synopsis

Having lost touch over the course of the pandemic, two 30-something couples catch up in Madrid for dinner and a concert. They make plans to hang out again—this time in the countryside where one couple has moved and is adopting a suburban lifestyle. The afternoon transforms from a friendly get-together into a referendum on opposing approaches to life and the city. Captivating performances translate a smart, incisive script to create a rumination on modern living.

 Spanish with subtitles 
  64 minutes

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