Recent Spanish Cinema 2023 in LA

“Recent Spanish Cinema” comes back in 2023 after its last edition in 2021, showcasing some of Spain’s top cinema personalities who have contributed significantly to putting “Made in Spain” productions in the vanguard of international filmmaking.

Since 1994, the Recent Spanish Cinema Series has presentes a curated list of current Spanish films. Talents such as Carmen Maura, Álex de la Iglesia, Paco León, Fernando Trueba, Angela Molina, Antonio de la Torre, Paz Vega, Luis Tosar and Eduardo Noriega have attended this event and left their personal stamp on the Recent Spanish Cinema Series. And each year, more long-standing celebrities as well as up-and-coming artists in Spanish cinema are adding their names to the list of participants, telling us about their film experiences at the Q&A sessions for the attending audiences.

Society of the Snow

• On Friday, November 3 at 7.30 pm.
• At Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403.
• Directed by J.A. Bayona, Spain, 2023, 143 minutes. Original title: La sociedad de la nieve.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.
• Free, RSVP required.
• Pre-recorded introduction by filmmaker J. A. Bayona, and opening Night cocktail reception following the film.

In 1972, the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile, catastrophically crashes on a glacier in the heart of the Andes. Only 29 of the 45 passengers survived the crash and finding themselves in one of the world’s toughest environments, they are forced to resort to extreme measures to stay alive.

Co-husbands

• On Saturday, November 4 at 4 pm.
• At Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
• Directed by Lucia Alemany, Spain, 2023, 102 minutes. Original title: Mari(dos).
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.
• Free, RSVP required.
• Pre-recorded Q&A with actor Paco León.

Toni and Emilio both receive the same tragic phone call: their wives are in a coma after an avalanche at a ski resort. When they reach the admissions desk at the hospital, they make a startling discovery: their wives are, in fact, the same person… Laura. For years, Laura has been secretly leading parallel lives… and riding a crazy roller-coaster between her two families. Forced to stay together until Laura wakes up and can be moved from the hospital, Emilio and Toni find themselves embroiled in a fight to prove who is her one and only, true husband.

20,000 species of bees

• On Saturday, November 4 at 4 pm.
• At Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
• Directed by Estíbaliz Urresola, Spain, 2023, 127 minutes. Original title: 20.000 especies de abejas.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.
• Free, RSVP required.
• Pre-recorded Q&A with filmmaker Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren.

In a small, sleepy village in the Basque Country, a sculptor named Ane and her three children arrive at her mother Lita’s home for summer vacation. Ane and her mother’s relationship is strained — Lita disapproves of her daughter’s frayed marriage, career as an artist, and the way she parents her obstinate and mischievous children. Chief among them is eight-year-old Aitor, nicknamed Coco. Born biologically male, neither birth name nor the genderless nickname feel quite right, and Ane’s concern for her child grows as Coco becomes more withdrawn. The child’s only respite lies in the Basque hills, where Ane’s aunt Lourdes tends to the family’s beekeeping farm. Among the peaceful humming of bees and Lourdes’ open-minded guardianship, Coco slowly begins to confide in family and friends her discomfort in her body, eventually voicing a desire to be treated as a girl. As Coco explores her own developing identity over the summer, Ane and the rest of her family in turn must learn to accept the child as she is.

La maternal

• On Sunday, November 5 at 4 pm.
• At Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
• Directed by Pilar Palomero, Spain, 2022, 122 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.
• Free, RSVP required. Co-presented by LA OLA.

At the age of 14, Carla is a wild and rebellious teenager. Living in a modest restaurant on the outskirts of town with her young single mother, she skips school and passes the time with her friend Efraín. When a social worker realizes that Carla is five months pregnant, she is taken to “La Maternal,” a center for teenage mothers, to live with other young women like herself. Together with their babies, they will learn to cope with this new adult life for which they had no time to prepare.

Robot dreams

• On Sunday, November 5 at 7:30 pm.
• At Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403.
• Directed by Pablo Berger, Spain, 2023, 96 minutes.
• In Spanish with English subtitles. Watch trailer.
• Free, RSVP required.

Dog is a lonely dog who lives in Manhattan. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a friend. Their friendship grows, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of New York in the 80s. One summer night, Dog with great sorrow, is forced to abandon Robot on the beach. Will they meet again?

This year, all tickets for the film showcase will be completely free as a token of appreciation to the entire community that has shown interest in Spanish cinema in Los Angeles, in recognition of the support the organization has received over so many years.