Festival of New Spanish Cinema 2016 in Chicago

The official traveling festival about the new trends in Spanish Cinema returns to Chicago as part of the 19th Chicago European Union Film Festival.

Launching 9 years ago, this selective slate of premieres highlights impressive productions from Spain, in a vast breadth of styles, techniques, and approaches employed by distinctive filmmakers today. With titles that ranges every genre, Festival of New Spanish Cinema brings to our audiences the best filmmaking produced this year. Some of the featured directors are established auteurs, while others have recently emerged on the international festival scene, snagging top prizes and critical acclaim. Do not miss this year selection specially presented by Pragda and SPAIN arts & culture. We have a film for every taste!

When a Tree Falls (Amama)

• On Saturday, March 12 at 4 pm.
• On Thursday, March 24 at 8 pm.
• Directed by Asier Altuna, Spain, 2015, 103 minutes.

The story of a family; the story of a conflict. The rural and the urban, the past and the present, parents and their offspring: opposing ways of life struggle against one another whilst, in eloquent silence, the grandmother –Amama– watches her family’s destiny unfold.​

Marshland (La Isla Mínima)

• On Sunday, March 6 at 5 pm.
• On Monday, March 7 at 7:45 pm.
• Directed by Alberto Rodríguez, Spain, 2014, 115 minutes.

The Spanish deep South, 1980. A series of brutal murders of adolescent girls in a remote and forgotten town bring together two disparate characters –both detectives in the homicide division– to investigate the cases. With deep divisions in their ideology, detectives Juan and Pedro must put aside their differences if they are to successfully hunt down a killer who for years has terrorized a community in the shadow of a general disregard for women rooted in a misogynistic past. From the creators of Unit 7, Marshland is the new thrilling movie by talented director Alberto Rodriguez, who surprised us with Unit 7 and 7 Virgins.

My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche)

• On Friday, March 18, 2 pm.
• On Wednesday, March 23 at 8:30 pm.
• Directed by Álex de la Iglesia, Spain, 2015, 100 minutes.

This riotous pop masterpiece from Spain’s Álex de la Iglesia chronicles the accidents, romances, conspiracies and backstage shenanigans that beset the taping of an unusually fraught New Year’s Eve variety show. The agitated extravaganza is headlined by pompous singing icon Alphonso (played with self-satirizing brio by real-life singer Raphael) being stalked by a tunesmith with a murderous grudge. Alphonse’s younger beefcake counterpart Adán (Mario Casas) is sought by a groupie looking to snatch a sample of the legendary Lothario’s semen.

Nothing in Return (A Cambio de Nada)

• On Thursday, March 17 at 8 pm.
• On Friday, March 18 at 8 pm.
• Director Daniel Guzmán will be present for audience discussion at both screenings.
• Directed by Daniel Guzmán, Spain, 2015, 90 minutes.

When not playing go-between for his divorcing, ever-battling parents, loveable but irascible teenage Dario and his chubby best buddy Luismi find creative ways to slough off in school and get into mischief of the shoplifting-and-girl-watching variety. When things at home and school just get too much to handle, Dario hides out at his friend Justo’s garage, or kills time with his new friend, a sprightly ninety-three-year-old flea market frequenter named Antonia, who is often out in the streets at all hours hunting for hidden treasures among others’ discards. When Justo is imprisoned for failure to pay a debt, Dario marshals his ragtag alternate family into raising sufficient funds to set Justo free—and a hilarious set of misadventures ensue.

Easy Sex, Sad Movies (Sexo Fácil, Películas Tristes)

• On Friday, March 18 at 2 pm.
• On Wednesday, March 23 at 8:30 pm.
• Directed by Alejo Flah, Spain, 2014, 90 minutes.

Buenos Aires screenwriter Pablo (Ernesto Alterio) is hired to write a new romantic comedy. As he begins his story, he visualizes his characters living in Madrid. Pablo creates a meet-cute between Marina (Marta Etura) and Víctor (Quim Gutiérrez), a cute couple in Madrid who are soon totally in love. Yet as Pablo gets more and more into the script, he finds it difficult to separate his movie characters from what is happening in his own real life –specifically, his own love life.