This October sees the 4th edition of the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) that will be held in venues across the city and across Scotland, presenting a total of 15 feature films and 13 short films in Spanish in three different cities.
From the 5th to 14th, the ESFF will hold screenings at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse and the University of Edinburgh, from 24th to the 26th, the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) will be host a smaller showcase and on the 19th and 31stof October screenings will take place at Stirling’s Macrobert Arts Centre.
Festival director Marian A. Aréchaga says, “The main objective of the festival is to support Spanish cinema, and to use film as a vehicle to promote the Spanish language and culture beyond our borders…” and expresses her gratitude towards “… institutions that have helped us to create a platform where Spanish and British industry professionals can meet.”
The opening film, 100 Metres from director Marcel Barrena, launches an exciting programme that includes the Scottish première of Happy 140 and the coveted Goya prize winners Smoke and Mirrors along with the epic 1898, Our Last Men in the Philippines from director Salvador Calvo who will be among the guests from the film industry taking part in Q&As and panel discussions throughout the festival. Other guests will be Dr Nuria Capdevilla Argüelles of the University of Exeter and Dr David Sorfa of the University of Edinburgh.
As in previous years, the 2017 programme will include a focus on regional cinema when Basque cinema brings Kalebegiak and Galicia is represented by María (And Everybody Else) and A Esmorga. The festival also features Latin American films with unprecedented screenings in Scotland such as Rara by Pepa San Martin and Alba by Ana Cristina Barragan, both of whom tell stories through the eyes of children.
A very special feature of the ESFF is one day of the programme dedicated to Spanish gastronomy. This year the spotlight falls on Galician cuisine, highlighted through the documentary The Balance of Opposites about renowned Chef Javier Olleros. The film chronicles the transformations the Galician Chef goes through, both personally and professionally, during the two years in which his restaurant Culler de Pau, in O Grove, Pontevedra, is completely refurbished.
The Filmhouse Café Bar will play host to Amparo Saldaña’s photography exhibition Emakumeok Bizirik, an ode to women’s freedom, and the popular educational workshops will also be carried out at schools throughout Scotland as part of this 4th ESFF.
All proceeds from this year’s ESFF’s opening gala will go to the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, that supports those affected by multiple sclerosis that was instigated by Edinburgh based author J.K. Rowling.
Full details at http://www.edinburghspanishfilmfestival.com/en/
5th to 31st October 2017 - Tickets prices: full price (£10), concession (£8), schools (£3)