MANILA, PHILIPPINES — From October 05 to 15, the PELÍCULA>Pelikula Spanish Film Festival returns for its 22nd edition. The film festival is set to screen 23 films at the Shangri-La Plaza’s Red Carpet Theatre in Mandaluyong while seven films will be screened online. The online films will be available in Australia and Singapore as well.
Since its creation in 2002 by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, PELÍCULA>Pelikula has been an annual celebration of cinema in the Spanish language, a showcase of the latest and critically acclaimed films by important film directors from Spain and Ibero-American countries.
Similar to previous editions, this year’s film program has been carefully curated and selected from a range of genres which includes drama, comedy, horror, thriller, family, musicals, and animation that will satisfy the cinematic interests of the Festival’s avid and diverse viewers and followers.
Special sections
Headlining this year’s program is the Pelicula en Verde, an initiative in which for each spectator of any of the films marked as such, a tree will be planted. These films are Alcarràs (Carla Simón, 2023), As bestas (Rodrigo Sorogoyen, 2022), El Olivo (Icíar Bollaín, 2016), Fonos (Gabriela Badillo Sánchez 2021), and Tierra (Julio Medem,1996), whose themes are mainly about nature and environmental issues. This initiative is conducted in partnership with the Haribon Foundation and is sponsored by Acciona, one of the top Spanish infrastructure companies whose headquarters for Asia are in Manila.
This year’s program will also include a tribute to Carlos Saura, an acclaimed Spanish filmmaker who died early this year at the age of 91. A special section will be dedicated to him, which will include his films Embrujo, Goya en Burdeos, and El Rey de todo el mundo.
The festival will also include films from Ibero-American countries including Chile, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico, and will feature a co-production from Spain and Mexico.
Audience choice awards
Just like in previous years, viewers may vote for their favorite films for the Audience Choice Awards. The winning film will again be screened on the last day of the Festival on October 15.
PELíCULA 2023 is a project of Instituto Cervantes and Shangri-La Plaza, in collaboration with the Embassies of Spain in the Philippines, Australia, and Singapore, the AECID, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Filmoteca Española, the Embassy of Colombia and the Embassy of Mexico, with the participation of the Embassy of Chile, the Embassy of Argentina, and Haribon Foundation, and sponsored by Vibal Foundation, Acciona, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Arthaland, SSI Group, Inc., Barcino, La Latina and Fundador.
All the screenings are free entrance on a first come, first served basis. All the movies are in Spanish or their original language with English subtitles.
