The Festival of New Spanish Cinema has served as the leading North American showcase of contemporary Spanish cinema for the past 7 years.

The Festival of New Spanish Cinema is back in town. Join us in celebrating 5 exceptional contemporary Spanish films that comprise the programme this year at Bytowne Cinema. We are pleased to present some really delightful comedies, such as our hilarious opening film, Sánchez Arévalo’s latest comedy-drama, Family United. Some films such as Black Diamonds will offer glimpses into important and hidden issues around soccer. Others will inspire us with music and history in Spain and Latin America (Serrat & Sabina: Two for the Road), and others will explore love without frontiers: Get ready for Cannibal and I Thought It Was A Party.

Family United (La Gran Familia Española)

On Wednesday, October 1 at 7 pm.

Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, Spain, 2013, 101 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

With Verónica Echegui, Antonio de la Torre, Quim Gutiérrez, Roberto Álamo, Miquel Fernández. Efraín, the youngest of five brothers all with biblical names (as in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), asks his ten-year-old classmate, Carla, to marry him when they both turn 18. Eight years later, who would have thought that Spain would be playing the World Cup finals in South Africa precisely on their wedding day? Efraín will reunite his family on this day of national catharsis and with the entire country paralyzed by the game, each family member will be confronted with the most challenging match of their lives: accepting who they are and where they come from.

Serrat & Sabina: Two for the Road (Serrat & Sabina: El Símbolo y el Cuate)

On Wednesday, October 8 at 7 pm.

Francesc Relea, Spain, 2013, 83 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

A documentary tour of Latin America with two like-thinking artists. Joan Manuel Serrat and Joaquín Sabina, in a continent that has and continues to experience enormous changes and where both have put down deep roots. Serrat is an icon for an entire generation who venerate him as the personification of everything they stand for. Sabina is el cuate, the affectionate Mexican term translating as ‘buddy’ in Spanish.

I Thought It Was A Party (Pensé Que Iba A Haber Fiesta)

On Wednesday, October 15 at 7 pm.

Victoria Galardi, Argentina, Spain, 2014, 84 minutes. With Elena Anaya, Valeria Bertucelli, Fernán Miras, Esteban Bigliardi, Esteban Lamothe, Abigail Cohen. In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

For how long is the ex-partner of a friend untouchable? Lucía (Victoria Bertuccelli, To Fool A Thief) has been separated from Ricki, the father of her daughter Abi, for 4 years. She invites her best friend Ana (Elena Anaya, The Skin I Live In, Room in Rome) to stay and care for the house and enjoy the summer by the pool while she takes a short trip to Uruguay with her new partner. Early the morning after Lucía leaves, Ricki, who has not seen Ana for almost 2 years, comes to collect his daughter. In a casual and unexpected encounter, Ana and Ricki discover an attraction —or perhaps confirm one that may have always been there— and a romance is ignited. Upon Lucía’s return Ana avoids the inevitable admission as she battles guilt, lies and the fear of losing her friend. An honest and poignant commentary on friendship, I Thought It Was A Party is also a film about the search for love, loneliness, fear, guilt, and the world of women.

Cannibal (Caníbal)

On Wednesday, October 22 at 7 pm.

Manuel Martín Cuenca, Spain, Romania, 2013, 116 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

Cannibal is a disturbing yet intoxicating tale of bizarre romance where Hitchcock meets Buñuel. Carlos (Antonio de la Torre) is the most prestigious tailor in Granada, Spain. His life is a study in details, from the meticulous suits he creates for wealthy clients to the macabre murders he executes in the shadows. He performs these gruesome acts, including dining on the women he kills, without guilt or remorse. When Nina (Olimpia Melinte), a beautiful young immigrant from Romania, comes looking for her missing twin sister, she awakens in Carlos a kind of love he’d long since written off. As their relationship builds, based on secrets and deception, Nina’s pure innocence will become undeniable, even by Carlos, a man driven by a dark secret. Cannibal is, in the end, a demon’s love story. Its shocking and unusual romantic script was selected at Cannes’s L’Atelier and Rotterdam’s Cinemart.

Black Diamonds (Diamantes Negros)

On Wednesday, October 29 at 7 pm.

Miguel Alcatud, Spain/Portugal, 2013, 110 minutes. With Carlos Bradem, Hanidou Samaké, Setigui Diallo, Willy Toledo. In Spanish, French, Bambara with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

Fifteen-year-old Amadou and Moussa are two teenagers with a passion for soccer. In their free time from school and from work at the local market in Mali, the boys hone their skills and trade stories about their European idols and those Africans players who have become stars in Europe. They are spotted by a football scout, separated from their families and brought to Madrid to become stars. There they embark on a journey through Spain, Portugal and Northern Europe which will show them firsthand the shadowy world behind the beautiful game; a business which does not see in them two young kids, but two “Black Diamonds.” This fictionalized depiction of a scandalous (and illegal, according to FIFA rules) practice is made with sensitivity, humor and engaging performances by its two young leads.

Tickets: general admission, $12; Members, Youth (under 17), and Seniors (over 65), $8.

Venue

Bytowne Cinema, 325 Rideau St, Ottawa, ON K1N 5Y4

View on Google Maps

Phone

613-789-3456

More information

Venue's website