Spanish Film Festival Flamenco's Onto Sydney Shores
Words By Antoinette Radford
Whether you need an opportunity to crack out those salsa moves, a chance to prove you ~truly~ do know the words to 'Despacito', or just an excuse to eat nachos and feel good about it – the Spanish film festival is the perfect opportunity.
Celebrating its coming-of-age 21st Birthday, the festival has made a bigger and better program to attend to all tastes of both Spain and Latin America. With the likes of actors such as Penelope Cruz and Antonio de la Torre, the films on offer include a range of genres, from family friendly to a classic European romance, comedy and of course, DRAMA!
Image source: Spanish Film Festival, 'It's for your own good'
One of the movies on offer as a taste of the ‘new’ flavour of Spanish cinema is ‘It’s for your own good’, a movie that follows the line of three fathers conspiring to get rid of their daughters boyfriends. The comedy headliner of the festival follows an intersection of story lines from people of various social backgrounds, caricaturising their personalities to accentuate and mock the stereotype’s they embody. Despite the cultural differences between Australia and Spain, the humour tie-over is universal.
The program also showcases the works of Spain’s female directors, who currently only make up 10% of the country’s film industry. Summer 1993, or ‘Estiu 1993’, is a moving film, that follows the story of an orphaned girl and her little sister as they navigate moving to a new town, prejudice and coming of age.
Image source: Spanish Film Festival, 'Summer 1993'
The film has been nominated for a striking variety of awards, including official selection to the 2018 Academy Awards, and winning Best Film Odessa Film Festival, 2017 and Best First Feature – Berlin International Film Festival, 2017.
The festival is conveniently screening at Palace Cinemas, located closest to Sydney University at Central Park Mall and Leichardt, with student tickets going for $16.50. For those with little understanding of Spain or Spanish culture, all films are subtitled in English and if you’re still looking for an excuse to go; the event is sponsored by Estrella Damm Lager. Think an exquisite menu, inspired by the best bites of Barcelona and plenty of alcohol welcome in each theatre.
If your next Euro Summer seems too far, the festival brings a small glimpse of those Barcelona beaches to the Inner-West.