Special Presentation of 'The Dead Man and Being Happy' at LAFF

Don’t miss the Q&A with filmmaker Javier Rebollo, plus a post-screening reception on Friday, October 4th as part of AFI Latin American Film Festival.

Spanish filmmaker Javier Rebollo’s oddball road movie centers on an aging, cancer-stricken hitman, Santos (José Sacristán), who goes on the lam in his Ford Falcon after flaking out on his most recent assignment.

Stealing away from his Buenos Aires hospital bed, he hits the road and heads north, hoping to make it to Bolivia. Along the way he’s joined by fellow traveler Alejandra (Lisa Caligaris), a woman seeking change in her own life, who impulsively jumps in the car with Santos at a highway gas station. Making their way across the stunning Argentine landscape, stumbling upon decrepit resort towns described as “a strange mix of paradise and apocalypse,” Rebollo’s quirky picaresque has both an offhand charm and a light sense of gravitas.

The Dead Man and Being Happy (El muerto y ser feliz)

Dir./Scr. Javier Rebollo; Scr. Lola Mayo, Salvador Roselli, Prod. Luis Miñarro, José Nolla, Damián París. Spain/Argentina/France, 2013, color, 92 minutes. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Best Actor for Sacristán, 2012 Goya Awards; Official Selection, 2012 San Sebastian, New York Film Festivals; 2013 Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary Film Festivals.

Watch trailer.

Get your tickets for the special presentation, Also showing on Wedneday, October 9 at 6:30 pm. Check out the Spanish films' schedule at AFI Latin American Film Festival.