2018 Toronto Spanish Film Festival

The Festival brings the latest trends in Spanish cinema: 4 screenings, 4 Wednesdays, 4 daily worlds.

The 2018 Toronto Spanish Film Festival brings a wide selection of 2017 films representative of Spanish filmmaking, transporting us to the most bizarre life situations, such as when writing a novel takes a life of its own, when parents start a war with their daughter’s boyfriend for her own good, when an eccentric matriarch decides to live in a castle with her family and a monkey, or when we delve into the child psychology of an orphan as she receives a different type of emotional education.

The motive

• On Wednesday, October 3 at 6:45 pm.
• Original title: El Autor.
• Thriller directed by Manuel Martín Cuenca, 2017, 112 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

Alvaro dreams of becoming a great writer, but he is incapable of producing anything other than tedious, pretentious drivel. He works as a clerk for a notary in Seville and his passion for writing is the only thing that brightens up his otherwise dull existence. He not only lacks talent, but imagination as well. Guided by his writing teacher, Juan, Alvaro discovers that truly great fiction is drawn from reality and so embarks on a mission to create his own story. By manipulating his friends and neighbours, Alvaro gets his plot, but will his true story have a happy ending?

For your own good

• On Wednesday, October 10 at 6:45 pm.
• Original title: Es por tu bien.
• Comedy directed by Carlos Therón, 2017, 93 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

The worst nightmare for the father of a daughter is the day that she introduces her boyfriend… who inevitably turns out to be utterly despicable, and who only wants one thing from his beloved little girl. And that is precisely the day that arrives for Arturo, Poli and Chus. Their sweet daughters have decided to ruin their future with three loathsome boyfriends. The only solution is to join forces to get rid of them no matter what it takes.

Lots of kids, a monkey and a castle

• On Wednesday, October 17 at 6:45 pm.
• Original title: Muchos hijos, un mono y un castillo.
• Documentary directed by Gustavo Salmerón, 2017, 90 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

A charming and rich portrait of eccentric matriarch Julita Salmerón and her family. With hilarious and unexpected turns we discover just how Julita got her three childhood wishes: lots of kids, a monkey, and a castle.

Summer 1993

• On Wednesday, October 24 at 6:45 pm.
• Original title: Verano 1993 (Estiu 1993).
• Drama directed by Carla Simó, 2017, 97 minutes.
• In Spanish and Catalan with English subtitles. Watch trailer.

When six-year-old Frida is orphaned as a result of the AIDS virus, she must adjust to life in the countryside of Catalonia with her uncle and his family. Revealing the aftermath of tragedy through a child’s eyes, Frida must rediscover the building blocks of human intimacy.