2014 AFI European Union Film Showcase

Now in its 27th year, the AFI European Union Film Showcase continues its tradition of bringing the best in European cinema to Washington audiences, including Spanish film Falling Star.

This year’s selection of films will include international film festival award-winners, local box-office hits and debut works by promising new talents, plus many countries’ official Oscar® submissions for Best Foreign Language Film.

Recent AFI European Union Film Showcase favorites have included Sweden’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Germany’s The Lives of Others, France’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Persepolis, and the UK’s Anna Karenina, The Young Victoria, and Le Week-end, all making their Washington, D.C., area premieres at AFI Silver, before going on to successful theatrical runs.

Spanish films at AFI European Union Film Showcase:

Falling Star (Stella cadente)

• On Friday, December 19 at 5:15 pm and Sunday, December 21 at 12:50 pm.
• Dir./Scr./Prod. by Luis Miñarro; Screenwriter: Sergi Belbel; Producer: Leo Casamitjana. Spain, 2014, color, 105 minutes. In Catalan and Spanish with English subtitles. Not rated.
• After Spain’s 1870 “Glorious Revolution,” the country’s legislature votes to place Italian Duke Amedeo (Àlex Brendemühl) upon the Spanish throne, crowning him King Amadeo. But the energetic, reform-minded monarch is stymied at every turn, whether by obstructionist ministers or insubordinate servants. Trapped in this gilded cage of a castle, and with unrest brewing beyond its walls, the King and his court withdraw into a hermetic world of daydreams and nighttime frolics. This debut narrative feature from veteran producer Luis Miñarro revels in lush visuals, louche humor and painterly tableaux. Official Selection, 2014 Rotterdam, BAFICI, Karlovy Vary Film Festivals.