For the 19th edition of ¡Viva!, the festival team have watched scores of features to select the very best in new filmmaking from across Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America. With dramas, comedies and documentaries chosen from eight countries including Nicaragua, Uruguay, Colombia and Chile, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in Manchester this March.
Highlights of the film programme include the lively Spanish comedy La Vida empieza hoy; the internationally acclaimed drama Infancia clandestina; Andrés Wood’s moving biopic Violeta se fue a los cielos; and a favourite with the festival team, Juan Martinez Moreno’s werewolf comedy caper Lobas de Arga.
As part of our packed programme, we’re pleased to present ten UK premieres and new films from some of our favourite ¡Viva! directors including Benito Zambrano (Habana Blues), Rodrigo Plá (La Zona) and the prolific Álex de la Iglesia who returns with his ninth ¡Viva! film in thirteen years.
The festival continues throughout the building: why not visit Yoshua Okón’s exhibition Octopus in Gallery 1, practise your Catalan or Spanish language skills in one of our informal Café discussions or try one of the Spanish specialities on offer in our café bar?
Selected guests are already confirmed for Q&As and special events and more will be announced in the run up the festival, so be sure to check out the festival website for the latest news alongside festival reviews and podcasts.
Have a great festival! ¡Disfrutad el festival!
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In this festival
VIVA Festival
¡Viva! 2013 begins!
¡Viva! opened in style on Friday, with a packed screening of Spanish-Argentine heist caper ¡Atraco! and a lively exhibition preview with Mexican artist Yoshua Okón.
VIVA Festival
Countdown to ¡Viva! 2013
Yes it's that time of the year again - with only a month to go we turn our attention to ¡Viva! 2013!
VIVA Festival
Staff Review in Spanish/ El Mundo es nuestro
Reportera digital Marina Pereda reseña El Mundo es nuestro...
Previously in this Festival
Exhibition
Yoshua Okón: Octopus
Inserted within the US tradition of civil war re-enactments, Octopus (2011) by artist Yoshua Okón offers an alternative presentation of the Guatemalan Civil War.
Cinema
Infancia clandestina
A gripping story, based on real events, told from the perspective of the 12-year-old son of Argentine political activists who return to their homeland using…
Cinema
Después de Lucía
Six months after the death of Lucía in a car accident, her husband Roberto and daughter Alejandra move to Mexico City to make a fresh…
Cinema
Medianeras
In Buenos Aires, a city of three million people, Martin and Mariana both suffer from the modern malaise of urban loneliness, each struggling with their…
event
Closing Party! ¡FIESTA CLAUSURA! 2013
Our ¡Viva! partners at the Instituto Cervantes invite you to celebrate the final weekend of the festival at our Fiesta de clausura, held at the…
event
One Hour Intro/ Indignados, crisis and film: New directions in Spanish cinema
The ongoing economic crisis has brought about significant changes in politics, culture, society and the arts in Spain. This talk seeks to consider the recent…
event
One Hour Intro/ There’s still something hairy in the woods
Inspired by the appearance of Lobos de Arga (Game of Werewolves) at this year’s ¡Viva!, this one hour intro will use a range of blood…
event
AS/A2 Study Session Infancia clandestina
This AS/A2 study session will focus on the ¡Viva! film Infancia clandestina. Topics covered will include Argentina in the 1970s (society, politics); political militancy; family…
event
GCSE Study Session/ Pájaros de papel
Set during the Spanish Civil War, Pájaros de papel is an emotional and tender story of friendship and survival in desperate times. Musician Jorge del…
event
Director Q&A/ El Mundo es nuestro
To celebrate the UK premiere of El Mundo es nuestro at ¡Viva! 2013 we are pleased to welcome writer, director, producer and actor Alfonso Sánchez…
event
¡Viva! 2013 Opening Gala
Join us to celebrate the opening of the 19th edition of ¡Viva! with the UK premiere of Eduard Cortés’ slick heist caper ¡Atraco! Following the…
Cinema
A puerta fría
As the pivotal character appearing in nearly every scene, prolific sevillano actor Antonio Dechent is the driving force of this perfectly pitched study of a…
Cinema
Del lado del verano
Del lado del verano is an entertaining comedy from the Canary Islands that centres on the trials and tribulations of a wonderfully dysfunctional family, as…
event
ADULT STUDY MORNING/ Medianeras
Carmen Herrero and Ana Valbuena present an interactive study session designed for adult Spanish language learners. Following a contextualising introduction and a screening of the…
event
Post-screening discussion/ The Long Holidays of 1936
The Wed 20 Mar screening of The Long Holidays of 1936 will be followed by a post-screening discussion led by Carmen Herrero, Head of Spanish…
event
Producer Q&A/ Ali
To celebrate the UK premiere of Ali at ¡Viva! 2013 we are pleased to welcome producer Álvaro Alonso from the filmmaking team.
event
Panel Discussion/ Una Vida sin palabras
To accompany the fascinating documentary Una Vida sin palabras we have arranged a panel of guests to lead a post-screening discussion facilitated by a British…
event
Director Q&A/ Els Nens salvatges
To celebrate the UK premiere of Els Nens salvatges at ¡Viva! 2013 we are pleased to welcome writer and director Patricia Ferreira.
Cinema
La Chispa de la vida
Roberto is a down-on-his-luck publicist looking for work. When a freak accident leaves him impaled at a local monument, he seizes the opportunity to save…
event
Artist’s Talk/ Yoshua Okón
Yoshua Okón will be joined by Artistic Director Visual Art and Film, Sarah Perks, for a cinema-based discussion interspersed with excerpts of the artist’s video…
event
Preview/Yoshua Okón: Octopus
Join us on the launch night of ¡Viva! 2013 and enjoy a complimentary drink and first look at our new exhibition from Mexican artist Yoshua…
Cinema
The Long Holidays of 1936
Set in a middle-class holiday resort near Barcelona at the time of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the film tells the story of…
event
Café Cervantes 2013
The return of the ever-popular Café Cervantes, an informal gathering of Spanish speaking film lovers. Come and practise your language skills while sharing your opinions…
event
Cafè ‘Els Quatre Gats’ 2013
Veniu! Passeu! Que casa nostra és casa vostra...Our popular Catalan Café session returns to ¡Viva! to accompany a screening of Patricia Ferreira’s tense drama Els…
Cinema
Las Buenas hierbas
Las Buenas hierbas immerses the viewer in a lush and vibrant Mexico City, exploring the fascinating legacy of the Mexican herbalist tradition, used to heal…
Cinema
De jueves a domingo
Told through the eyes of ten-year-old Lucia, De jueves a domingo is the story of a broken family's final journey; a journey to the north…
Cinema
La Vida empieza hoy
Spanish comedy La Vida empieza hoy takes a light-hearted approach to sex lives in the third age, when a Barcelona community centre provides classes aimed…
Cinema
Lobos de Arga
Spanish werewolf comedy Lobos de Arga is a retro parody of the horror genre, complete with splatter gore, monsters and a cute canine sidekick.
Cinema
El Mundo es nuestro
Topical heist comedy El Mundo es nuestro makes a farce with bite out of Spain's current financial woes. Dressed as holy week penitents, two working…
Cinema
Violeta se fue a los cielos
Violeta se fue a los cielos recounts the fascinating life of Violeta Parra (1917-67), Chilean composer, songwriter, folklorist, visual artist, and mother of the New…
Cinema
Els Nens salvatges
In this tale of teenage rebellion with tragic consequences, Alex, Gabi and Oki do their best to deal with the pressures of school and home…
Cinema
Una Vida sin palabras
Una Vida sin palabras is a moving documentary about young deaf adults in rural Nicaragua who gain their first experience of communication through sign language…
Cinema
La Voz dormida
As a politically active Republican, pregnant Hortensia has been imprisoned in the brutal Ventas jail near Madrid, her naïve younger sister Pepita is slowly drawn…
Cinema
30 años de oscuridad
30 años de oscuridad is a fascinating documentary which uses animation and personal accounts to present the story of Spain’s so-called ‘moles’, people who spent…