¡Viva! 2014 gets off to a flying start

¡Viva! opened with aplomb on Friday – a sold out screening and a cinema ringing with laughter at the UK premiere of Días de vinilo. At the second showing on Sunday we had a wonderful Q&A session with Argentine director Gabriel Nesci, who conveyed his delight and pride at seeing his film on the big screen in the native land of his music and cinema idols. And if you haven’t caught it so far, there’s a third and final screening on Wed 19 March at 18:20.

There was also a great audience reaction to the latest work from Venezuelan filmmaking duo Mariana Rondón and Marité Ugas, the director and producer of the brilliant Pelo malo. Don’t worry if you missed this chance, the evident popularity of this film is bound to see it return to Cornerhouse on its general release some time this summer.

And Tuesday night saw our third Q&A event, with Roberto Flores Prieto, director of the beautiful Colombian film Cazando luciérnagas presenting another UK premiere.

There’s more to look forward to as the week goes on – tomorrow we welcome Mariela Artiles back to Manchester with her directorial debut, 24 cines por segundo: Sábanas blancas (Blank Canvas), a homage to our cinematic heritage and an analysis of the challenges faced by the Spanish film industry today from the triple perspective of those who make, those who screen and those who watch films.

Last Sunday’s glorious sunshine couldn’t have been more perfect for our first ever Spanish language walking tour, ¡Hola Manchester!, which was so heavily oversubscribed that we’ve persuaded our wonderful guide Jean Bailo to put on a second one on Sat 22 March! And don’t forget there’s also something for Spanish language learners this coming weekend, with the Adult Study Morning based around the Barcelona sci-fi film Los Últimos días.

More news and updates soon, I hope you enjoy the festival!

¡Disfrutad el festival!

Jessie Gibbs
¡Viva! Festival Coordinator