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¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival returns for its 15th edition with nine days of fantastic fact and fiction from Spain and Spanish speaking Latin American cinema. This year’s diverse selection ranges from Andalucian sci-fi to a Catalan documentary, Cuban comedy to an Argentine thriller, and films from a Mexican indigenous community to the Peruvian elite.
The festival features many highly acclaimed films from the skilfully crafted Argentine film, EL NIDO VACÍO, to the latest Goya Awards nominated films including the Colombian thriller PERRO COME PERRO, EL ÚLTIMO TRUCO and CENIZAS DE CIELO.
To commemorate 50 years since the Cuban Revolution there will be a special focus on Cuban cinema with the Cuba Libre season, including the cinematic classic MEMORIAS DE SUBDESAROLLO and contemporary features and shorts. Also look out for the excellent One Hour Intro events on Cuban Cinema, Spanish cinema, Spanish and Latin American Sci-Fi, and individual films; plus, don’t miss the chance to put your comments and questions to some of the filmmakers live and direct!
Programme details are listed below. Please visit ¡Viva! website where the latest updates on guests and news from the festival can also be found. For those of you dedicated to the ¡Viva! programme, buy the *SEASON PASS* and watch 8 films for just £40 full / £28 concs (exluding galas). Download from the left hand side of this page and ¡Disfrutad el festival!
This year the ¡Viva! programme has been put together with the invaluable assistance of staff from the University of Manchester, University of Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Instituto Cervantes.
Missed the best films of the festival? Don’t worry, you can catch the highlights of ¡Viva! festival at the following venues across the UK and Ireland.
Visit www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/viva2009 for full details and additional venues.
Barn Cinema | Dartington www.dartington.org/barn-cinema
Broadway Cinema and Media Centre | Nottingham www.broadway.org.uk
chapter | Cardiff www.chapter.org
Chichester Cinema at New Park | Chichester www.chichestercinema.org
Clwyd Theatr Cymru | Mold www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk
Eden Court | Inverness www.eden-court.co.uk
Filmhouse | Edinburgh www.filmhousecinema.com
Forum Cinema | Northampton www.northampton.gov.uk/film
Irish Film Institute | Dublin www.irishfilm.ie
Showroom | Sheffield www.showroom.org.uk
Tyneside Cinema | Newcastle www.tynesidecinema.co.uk
Watershed | Bristol www.watershed.co.uk
Quad | Derby www.derbyquad.co.uk
For another chance to see past and present ¡Viva! films including HAVANA BLUES and EL BAÑO DEL PAPA visit www.sodapictures.com
Previously in this Festival
Cinema
El Nido vacío
Director Daniel Burman returns with the tale of Leonardo and Martha, a couple who have it all. As their children grow up and leave the…
Cinema
El Último truco. Emilio Ruiz del Río
Mirrors, painted glass, meticulous miniatures to scale and numerous trompe l’oeils – Emilio Ruiz, master of special effects and winner of 3 Goyas, has used…
Cinema
Titón, de la Habana a Guantanamera
A tenderly observed account of the life and works of Cuban director and screenwriter Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. An insightful documentary which brings to life not…
Cinema
El Cuerno de la abundancia
A screwball Cuban comedy from Juan Carlos Tabío, whose corrosive wit explores the allure of wealth as the residents of a small town chase the…
Cinema
¡Viva la nueva generación!
The International School of Film and Television (EICTV) has selected these documentary and fiction shorts especially for ¡Viva! 2009. Located just outside Havana, this prestigious…
Cinema
Un Paraíso bajo las estrellas
Serious issues are injected into this Cuban comedy, which dazzles the senses with fantastic choreographed routines from within the famous Club Tropicana, following the story…
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¡Viva! Opening Gala
SOLD OUT. Join us to celebrate the opening of the 15th ¡Viva! when Cornerhouse Café Bar will be transformed into a Latin American fiesta, with…
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One Hour Intro: Spanish Cinema Now
This illustrated One Hour Intro will present an overview of ¡Viva! 2009, introducing our audience to some of the most prominent directors, actors and producers…
Cinema
La Mujer del anarquista
Set during the harrowing years of the Spanish Civil War, this moving drama tells the story of one young couple’s undying love in the face…
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Northern Film Network Directing Masterclass
A special masterclass with Spanish directors Juan Vicente Córdoba and Alfonso Zarauza who will discuss their diverse filmmaking experiences. This is a great opportunity for…
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Adult Study Session: CENIZAS DEL CIELO
Carmen Herrero and Ana Valbuena present our first ever ¡Viva! study session for adult learners, using CENIZAS DEL CIELO as a basis for discussion on…
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INSET: The Representation of Childhood and Adolescence in Spanish Cinema
Carmen Herrero will examine the representation of childhood and youth, and its place in various social and cultural contexts relevant to exam syllabuses, with the…
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GCSE Study Session: COBARDES
In this GCSE study session, Carmen Herrero and Ana Valbuena will use COBARDES as a basis for discussion and language exercises exploring topics including friends…
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AS Study Session: SLEEP DEALER
Carmen Herrero and Ana Valbuena will use SLEEP DEALER as a basis for language exercises and thematic discussion focusing on young people, family life, immigration…
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A2 Study Session: LA MUJER DEL ANARQUISTA
Carmen Herrero and Ana Valbuena will present a language study session focusing on history, the Spanish Civil War, political commitment, and society and the law.…
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One Hour Intro: Cuba’s Place in Latin American Cinema
Dr Jill Ingham, researcher in Latin American Studies (Manchester Metropolitan University), will provide an illustrated overview of Latin American cinema, exploring its place in the…
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Cafè ‘Els Quatre Gats’ 2009
We welcome Catalan speakers and learners of all levels to join us in discussing ¡Viva! films, guests, parties and festival gossip over a glass of…
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One Hour Intro: Spanish & Latin American Sci-Fi
Celebrating ¡Viva! screenings of SLEEP DEALER and 3 DÍAS this illustrated talk will introduce the rare world of Spanish and Latin American science-fiction cinema, providing…
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Café Cervantes 2009
Spanish speakers and learners are invited to our popular Café Cervantes event to chat in Spanish and swap ¡Viva! recommendations over a glass of wine…
Cinema
Sleep Dealer
An impressive sci-fi film that combines new technology and global politics as three strangers attempt to connect with each other and begin to resist their…
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Cinema
Los Paranoicos
A wonderfully crafted comedy from Argentine director Gabriel Medina. Luciano Gauna is an aspiring scriptwriter who ekes out a living as a clown who is…
Cinema
Perro come perro
The story of a violent, agoraphobic crime boss who keeps a close eye on his gang with the aid of telescopes. When his godson is…
Cinema
Aparecidos
Two friends travel across Argentina and discover the details of appalling crimes committed 20 years ago. With acknowledgement of Argentina’s ‘disappeared’, APARECIDOS combines horror, suspense…
Cinema
Flores de luna
In the 1950s, illegal family homes were built through the night and the community soon developed a unique identity. This moving documentary presents the development…
Cinema
La Noche que dejó de llover
Spanish favourite Luis Tosar stars as Spleen, a young dandy whose passions in life are few until he meets La Rusa, who takes him on…
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Cinema
Mà morta truca a la porta
Based on stories by renowned Catalan writer Sergi Pàmies, Costafreda’s ensemble piece tells seven tales of love, fate and death revealing the secret passions and…
Cinema
Cenizas del cielo
José Antonio Quirós’ drama stars Celso Bugallo as Federico, who has spent 30 years fighting for the closure of the power plant responsible for polluting…
Cinema
El Hombre de arena
Set in late 1960s Spain, under the Franco dictatorship, the film tells the story of Mateo, a young man imprisoned in a brutal psychiatric hospital…
Cinema
Segundo asalto
Ángel is a twenty-year-old loner and an aspiring boxer. Vidal makes his living from crime and pressures Ángel to join him in participating in a…
Cinema
LT22 Radio La Colifata
A wonderful, humanist documentary which calls into question received notions of normality and tells the story of LT22, Radio La Colifata is a radio show…
Cinema
La Virgen negra
A magical, colourful, romantic comedy with a sting which tells the tale of the statue of the Black Virgin which with a simple wish straying…
Cinema
Corazón del tiempo
In the heart of the Selva Laconda, a young girl is to be married – but when a chance meeting with a rebel fighter throws…
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¡Viva! Closing Gala
Another chance to party, not that anyone needs much of an excuse during ¡Viva!... Join us after the final films, discuss the 'best of the…