Instituto Cervantes’ Spanish Film Festival is back in Makati

A peaceful act of defiance of a bus driver sparks a neighborhood movement that transformed the suburbs and laid the foundations of modern Barcelona.

A group of politically active labor lawyers take refuge in a remote house during the attempted coup d’État of February 23, 1981 in Spain. Amid uncertainty, they debate whether to flee, remain hidden, or take action to defend the fledgling democracy. 

When Dalia was a child, her father includes a character in the novel he’s writing as a tribute to her: a goat, inspired by her favorite stuffed toy. Years later, after her father dies and leaves the book unfinished, Dalia is kidnapped by the characters from the novel, who pull her into the world of fiction through a portal.

Angela, a deaf woman who is pregnant realizes her fears about motherhood and how to communicate with her daughter. The arrival of the child generates a crisis in the couple and leads Angela to face the upbringing of her daughter in a world that is not made for her.

Since the age of fourteen, Tasio has worked as a charcoal burner in the Urbasa mountains. His life unfolds between the forest, his family, and the hardships of artisanal labor, always in close contact with nature.

In a world inhabited by androids who live, dream, and grow, Alex and Bibi are two robots built in the same factory with the same materials and at the same time, yet their paths diverge from the very beginning. Fate brings them together on the football field and proved that dreams can overcome all obstacles through friendship and teamwork.

In the midst of artistic and cultural effervescence, an indie music group is going through its most delicate moment: the bass player breaks up with the band looking for his place outside music and the guitarist is immersed in a dangerous spiral of self-destruction. Meanwhile, the singer is facing a complicated process of writing and recording his third album. 

The sudden disappearance of his wife plunges Fernando, a calm and methodical geography professor, into disarray. Unable to cope with the void she leaves behind, he assumes the identity of a gardener and begins working in a Portuguese estate where he forms an unexpected friendship with Amalia, the enigmatic owner, and slowly finds peace and renewal in a life that isn’t his own.

A Free Man

Directed by Laura Hojman

The documentary brings back the figure of Andalusian writer Agustín Gómez Arcos, whose work, censored in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship, gained international acclaim during his exile in France. Through his writings, interviews, and archival material, the film recovers the memory of a free, uncompromising and committed creator. An intimate and necessary portrait of an author whose voice resonates more powerfully than ever today.

Breaking Walls

Directed by Borja Cobeaga

In the working-class suburbs of Bilbao in 1989, a children’s rhythmic gymnastics team is preparing to take part in a championship in Berlin. Since the mothers are unable to accompany their daughters, the task unexpectedly falls to the fathers. What begins as a reluctant responsibility soon turns into a transformative journey, as these men discover new ways of connecting with their daughters and with each other.

The Story of Us

Directed by Helena Taberna

Ángela and Antonio meet in their youth and, like so many couples, fall in love and begin to build a shared life. Over the years, they experience the different stages of a relationship: passion, routine, doubts, loss, and the need to reinvent themselves in order to move forward together.

Becho

Directed by José Infantozzi

Becho is a boy with a unique gift: he can see passion as a golden, radiant energy flowing from people and special moments. One day, during a concert, that force transports him into a magical world where La Cumparsita resides. There he discovers that he can also generate this inner light, and with his horse Skat he embarks on adventures that lead him from joy to devastating loss. 

Black Butterflies

Directed by David Baute

Tanit lives in Turkana, northern Kenya, where extreme drought forces her to move to Nairobi with her family. Valeria, from the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, must flee after the devastating impact of Hurricane Irma. And Shaila, on the Indian island of Ghoramara, sees her home and crops destroyed by rising sea levels, compelling her to migrate to the city.

For Your Sake

Directed by Axel Monsú

Zulma is a teenage peasant growing up in a deeply religious, rural community in the jungles of Misiones, on the Argentina–Brazil border. From a young age, she submits to the family’s and church’s mandates, accepting a prescribed fate. Her parents arrange for her to marry David, an aspiring priest and son of her father’s business partner. But when domestic life becomes unbearable, Zulma embarks on a desperate quest for emancipation.

The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortes

Directed by C. Tangana

When Antón Álvarez (C. Tangana) meets Yerai Cortés, he is struck by his virtuosity and moved by his family story. Yerai, respected both by traditional Romani flamenco communities and contemporary artists, embarks with Álvarez on a journey to record an album infused with sorrow. This process forces him to confront his past and leads him to uncover a family secret, in a quest to heal his relationship with his parents.

Until the Music is Over

Directed by Cristiane Oliveira

Chiara is the matriarch of an Italian-descendant family torn apart. After her youngest son moves out, she decides to go along with Alfredo, her husband, on his trips as a salesman in the bars of Serra Gaúcha. Their trust in each other breaks down when Chiara finds out about Alfredo’s life on the road and he realizes she hides something.

I Am Nevenka

Directed by Icíar Bollaín

Nevenka Fernández, a municipal finance councillor in Ponferrada, is subjected to sexual harassment by the mayor—a powerful man used to exerting control both politically and personally. Despite facing emotional and professional persecution, Nevenka bravely decides to speak out.