Festival of New Spanish Cinema

Now in its eighth year, the FNSC returns with four Ottawa premieres, showcasing a bevy of new talents which are producing engaging works from every cinematic genre.

El Niño (The Kid)

• On Wednesday, October 7 at 6:40 pm.
• 16 Goya® Award Nominations.
• Daniel Monzón, Spain, 2014, 130 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles.
• Cast: Luis Tosar, Jésus Castro, Sergi López, Bárbara Lennie, Eduard Fernández.

The term ‘Blockbuster’ doesn’t often spring to mind when thinking about Spanish cinema, but with El Niño, directed by Daniel Monzón, that may well be about to change. A smash hit at the Spanish box office, and one of the country’s most ambitious productions in terms of large scale action sequences, El Niño proves that Hollywood doesn’t have the monopoly on big movies with audience appeal.

Recalling Michael Mann and Paul Greengrass in terms of scope and style, Monzón’s crime thriller is set primarily on the shores and waters of the Strait of Gibraltar. The multi-stranded plot sees a young man, El Niño (Jesús Castro), drawn into the world of international drug smuggling, first as a mule and then as an independent operator. As he comes bolder and more successful, he attracts the attention of two foes: drug kingpin El Inglès (Ian McShane) and the tough cop Jesús (Luis Tosar).

—Brighton Film Festival

Traces of Sandalwood (Rastres de Sàndal) 

• On Wednesday, October 14 at 6:55 pm. 
• Maria Ripoll, Spain, 2014, 95 minutes. in Catalan and English with English subtitles. 
• Cast: Nandita Das, Aina Clotet, Naby Dakhli.

A story of hope and love, from Mumbai to Barcelona and all the way back. 

Despite her fame and fortune, Mina (Nandita Das), a successful Indian actress in Mumbai, can’t forget her little sister Sita, from whom she was forced to separate after their mother’s death. Thirty years later, she learns that Sita (Aina Clotet) is alive and well in Barcelona. However, Sita’s adoptive parents have erased all traces of her past. She is now called Paula, works as a researcher and has no recollection of her Indian background, let alone of Mina. Faced with the shocking truths of her past, Paula begins a long journey of self-discovery, aided along the way by her budding romance with the handsome Indian immigrant Prakash (Naby Dakhli).

Adapted from her own bestselling novel (co-authored by Asha Miro), producer and writer Anna Soler-Pont’s screenplay is pure poetry, while Maria Ripoll’s direction and the lead performances exude just the right amount of grace and texture.

—Michael Rabehl, Cinequest Film Festival.

Magical Girl

• On Wednesday, October 21 at 6:40 pm.
• 7 Goya® Award Nominations.
• Carlos Vermut, Spain, France, 2014, 127 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles.
• Cast: José Sacristán, Bárbara Lennie, Luis Bermejo, Lucía Pollán.

Magical Girl employs a classic noir premise, taking an exploration to the dark side of human nautre to exhilarating new extremes.

Luis (Luis Bermejo) is desperate to fulfill his terminally ill daughter’s last wish: to own the prohibitively expensive ‘Magical Girl Yukiko’ dress from her favourite Japanese cartoon. Unemployed, with no prospects, and blinded with grief, Luis turns to extortion when he crosses paths with the beautiful, mentally disturbed Bárbara (Bárbara Lennie). Her marriage threatened by the blackmail, Barbara reluctantly complies with his scheme, even as it sends her spiralling into a world of danger and degradation. Seeking revenge on Luis, she turns to the only person who truly knows how damaged she is: retired math teacher Damián (José Sacristán), who has dark secrets of his own. The trio descends into an infernal cycle of deception and double-crosses, in which the struggle between reason and instinct plays out to nerve-jangling effect.

A thoroughly original creation, Carlos Vermut’s film is a vicious dance of vengeance and deceit.

—Diana Sanchez, Toronto International Film Festival.

Marseille (Marsella)

• On Wednesday, October 28 at 6:50 pm.
• Belén Macías / Spain / 2014 / 95 Min / Spanish and French with English subtitles.
• Cast: María León, Goya Toledo, Noa Fontanals, Eduard Fernandez, Alex Moner.

Who has the better claim to a child: the struggling working-class biological mother unable to ‘properly’ raise it –or the wealthy, middle-class adoptive mother who can? Does having money give you a greater claim on motherhood? These are the questions posed by Marseille, notable for its bravery, for its moral even-handedness and for a sterling performance by Maria León.

Andalucian Sara (León) had her daughter Claire (Noa Fontanals Fourgnaud) taken from her while she was in jail for unspecified offenses. Claire has been raised by well-to-do Virginia (Goya Toledo). But a judge has decided that Sara’s now capable of raising Claire again. Reunited (happily for Sara, less so for Claire), mother and daughter set off to find the girl’s biological father in Marseille. But youngster Claire manages to call her adoptive mom from the road, and soon, Virginia catches up to them.