We’re over the moon to be reopening HOME and bringing back the vast majority of the postponed ¡Viva! screenings, with special measures in place to make sure you have a safe and enjoyable experience. All screenings will take place in our largest screen, Cinema 1, but reduced capacity means seats are extremely limited and advance booking is recommended now more than ever. Tickets for the first two weeks of screenings are on sale to HOME Friends on Friday 4 Sep, HOME Members on Mon 7 Sep and on general sale Tue 8 Sep.
The 26th edition of ¡Viva! is a cinematic celebration of Spanish and Latin American culture, bringing to Manchester a specially selected programme of the most exciting film from across the Spanish-speaking world. In March 2020, ¡Viva! opened to packed cinema screens, and hopes were high for a record-breaking year as we reached the midpoint of the festival; that was until growing concern around the COVID-19 outbreak forced us to take the heart-breaking decision to close the doors at HOME, in order to keep staff, guests and audiences safe.
¡Viva! 2020 continues from Fri 11 Sep with 24 screenings over three weeks – 19 feature-length films from Spain and Latin America, including four UK cinema premieres, and four new Spanish short films screening before selected features. While we can’t bring any guests to HOME this autumn, the ¡Viva! team will be introducing six of the screenings to give audiences that little bit extra.
The film feast begins on Fri 11 Sep with the UK premiere of Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi’s debut El Despertar de las hormigas, which celebrates female empowerment as a put-upon housewife wakes up to her own dreams and desires. Tue 15 Sep sees a treat for fans of alternative cinema with another UK premiere, Mirador from Uruguay, plus a short film from San Sebastian, Ya está.
On Thu 24 Sep our best attended film from the first half of the festival makes a final appearance, La Hija de un ladrón, from Catalan filmmaker Belén Funes, so book now to find out just why it did so well. Plus you’ve got two more chances to see another big hit in Manchester, Mientras dure la guerra, Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar’s big budget historical drama set in 1936.
Other ¡Viva! 2020 highlights include the latest films from well-known Chilean director Andrés Wood (Araña) and the Argentinian filmmaker Carlos Sorín (Joel). Plus we’re proud to present a number of debut feature-length films, including Ana García Blaya’s homage to her late father (Las Buenas intenciones). We also present the UK premiere of Mexican documentary Tote abuelo, filmed in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, and of Cholitas, a documentary following five indigenous Bolivian women scaling the heights of Mount Aconcagua.
Revisited: ¡Viva! 2020, Fri 11 Sep- Thu 1 Oct:
| UK Premiere/ Araña + introduction |
| UK Premiere/ Cholitas + introduction |
| UK Premiere/ Detrás de la montaña + introduction |
| El Árbol negro |
| UK Premiere/ El Cuento de las comadrejas |
| UK Premiere/ El Despertar de las hormigas + introduction |
| UK Premiere/ El Proyeccionista |
| UK Premiere/ El Viaje extraordinario de Celeste García |
| UK Premiere/ Joel |
| La Hija de un ladrón + introduction |
| UK Premiere/ Las Buenas intenciones + short film Beef |
| UK Premiere/ Los Miembros de la familia + short film Cientouno |
| Los Sonámbulos |
| Mientras dure la guerra |
| UK Premiere/ Mirador + short film Ya está |
| Temblores |
| UK Premiere/ Tote abuelo |
| Yo, imposible + short film Carne |
| UK Premiere/ Zaniki + introduction |
Priority booking is available to our Friends and Members. Find out more about our membership packages here.
All films will begin at the advertised time with no adverts or trailers; all films are in Spanish with English subtitles unless otherwise noted; and all age certifications are local to Manchester City Council.
| Fri | 11-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ El Despertar de las hormigas + introduction |
| Sat | 12-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ El Cuento de las comadrejas |
| Sun | 13-Sep | 14:00 | UK Premiere/ Las Buenas intenciones + short film Beef |
| Mon | 14-Sep | 14:30 | El Árbol negro |
| Tue | 15-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ Mirador + short film Ya está |
| Wed | 16-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ Zaniki + introduction |
| Thu | 17-Sep | 14:15 | UK Premiere/ Los Miembros de la familia + short film Cientouno |
| Thu | 17-Sep | 20:15 | Yo, imposible + short film Carne |
| Fri | 18-Sep | 20:15 | Los Sonámbulos |
| Sat | 19-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ El Viaje extraordinario de Celeste García |
| Sun | 20-Sep | 13:30 | UK Premiere/ Joel |
| Mon | 21-Sep | 15:30 | Mientras dure la guerra |
| Tue | 22-Sep | 16:00 | UK Premiere/ El Despertar de las hormigas |
| Wed | 23-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ Araña + introduction |
| Thu | 24-Sep | 15:30 | UK Premiere/ Joel |
| Thu | 24-Sep | 20:15 | La Hija de un ladrón + introduction |
| Fri | 25-Sep | 15:30 | UK Premiere/ El Cuento de las comadrejas |
| Sat | 26-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ El Proyeccionista |
| Sun | 27-Sep | 16:00 | UK Premiere/ Cholitas + introduction |
| Mon | 28-Sep | 14:00 | Temblores |
| Tue | 29-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ Detrás de la montaña + introduction |
| Wed | 30-Sep | 20:15 | UK Premiere/ Tote abuelo |
| Thu | 01-Oct | 15:30 | Los Sonámbulos |
| Thu | 01-Oct | 20:15 | Mientras dure la guerra |
View the original full brochure here.
The ¡Viva! film programme is curated by Rachel Hayward, Head of Film, Jessie Gibbs, ¡Viva! Festival Coordinator, and Andy Willis, Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and HOME’s Senior Visiting Curator: Film. With the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery.
Festival supporters:
In this festival
HOME Film Podcast #59: August 2020 – A Reopening Special!
In this very special edition of our HOME Film Podcast, Rachel, Andy and Jason look forward to our reopening.
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – Mientras dure la guerra
Dr Abigail Loxham, Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Film at The University of Liverpool, explores Alejandro Amenábar's Mientras dure la guerra, screening as part of ¡Viva!…
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – Los Sonámbulos
Dr Ignacio Aguiló Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Latin American Cultural Studies at The University of Manchester, explores Paula Hernández’s Los Sonámbulos, screening as part of ¡Viva!…
Staff blog
¡Viva! Festival 2020 Intern Reba Martin shares her experience/ “Getting an insight into the decision-making process was invaluable.”
¡Viva! Festival 2020 Intern Reba Martin blogs about her experience supporting our annual Spanish & Latin American Film Festival.
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – El Árbol negro
Dr Ignacio Aguiló, Senior Lecturer in Latin American Cultural Studies at The University of Manchester, explores Máximo Ciambella and Damián Coluccio’s El Árbol negro ,…
Previously in this Festival
Cinema
La Hija de un ladrón
22-year-old Sara valiantly battles to bring up her infant son and look after her troubled little brother, with an extremely precarious home and job situation…
event
UK Premiere/ El Despertar de las hormigas + introduction
Introduced by Rachel Hayward, HOME's Head of Film, on Fri 11 Sep.
event
UK Premiere/ Detrás de la montaña + introduction
Introduced by Prof. Andy Willis, University of Salford, on Tue 29 Sep.
event
UK Premiere/ Zaniki + introduction
Introduced by Rachel Hayward, HOME's Head of Film, on Wed 16 Sep.
event
UK Premiere/ Cholitas + introduction
Introduced by Jessie Gibbs, ¡Viva! Festival Coordinator, on Sun 27 Sep.
event
UK Premiere/ Araña + introduction
Introduced by Jessie Gibbs, ¡Viva! Festival Coordinator, on Wed 23 Sep.
event
La Hija de un ladrón + introduction
Introduced by Prof. Andy Willis, University of Salford, on Thu 24 Sep.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Mirador
A sensory world that transcends the image; cinema becomes a meditative experience. A film about friendship, connection and loss; an opportunity to perceive the world…
Cinema
Mientras dure la guerra
With 17 Goya Award nominations, Alejandro Amenábar makes a triumphant return to directing in Spanish with an intense emotional drama set in 1936, at the…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Araña
Nominated for a Goya Award, Chilean director Andrés Wood has created a tense and insightful drama that peels back the veneer of respectability to reveal…
Cinema
Yo, imposible
A powerful film from Venezuela and Colombia with a truly universal message: the importance of self-determination of our bodies and identities, and especially in the…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Los Miembros de la familia
This quirky drama mines surrealist, deadpan comedy from death and the absurdity of life. Two siblings confront the empty space left by their mother’s suicide…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Cuento de las comadrejas
In this wickedly fun comedy from Argentina an eccentric group of film industry professionals are growing old disgracefully in a secluded manor house that radiates…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Detrás de la montaña
After a tragic incident at home, Miguel heads north from Mexico City to Ciudad Juárez, hell-bent on revenge against his father, who abandoned him at…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Viaje extraordinario de Celeste García
When a group of aliens land in Cuba offering earthlings a chance to visit their planet, Celeste signs up for the journey hoping for a…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Proyeccionista
El Proyeccionista simultaneously pays homage to the golden era of cinema and celebrates human connection, through twin lenses of nostalgia and obsession.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Las Buenas intenciones
Set in early 90s Buenos Aires, this is an intimate autobiographical portrait of childish adults and mature children muddling through, and a heart-warming celebration of…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Zaniki
A sort of mythical documentary from north western Spain, following Eusebio Mayalde, a shaman, folklorist and percussionist, who howls like a wolf at the full…
Cinema
Los Sonámbulos
When three generations of a family gather to celebrate New Year’s Eve one hot Argentinian summer, tensions simmer under the surface, pushing the women in…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Despertar de las hormigas
In the Costa Rican countryside where 28-year-old Isa lives, life choices are limited, and the traditional family model demands a wife’s subservience to her husband…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Tote abuelo
In this gently paced, personal documentary a Tsotsil filmmaker from Chiapas returns to her ancestral home to spend time with her elderly grandfather, Tote, to…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Joel
An expertly crafted drama from Carlos Sorín, this is an engaging tale of adoption and discrimination, and an interesting take on the old adage that…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Cholitas
In this inspirational documentary five indigenous Bolivian women, known as cholitas, climb the highest peak outside of Asia, the 6962m high Aconcagua in the Argentinian…
Cinema
El Árbol negro
A superbly shot and poetic documentary about Martín, an indigenous goat farmer from the Qom (or Toba) community, in a province of Argentina bordering Paraguay.
event
Chicho: Spain’s Horror Maestro
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador passed away in 2019, ¡Viva! & Film Fear have linked with the Instituto Cervantes to bring to HOME a celebration of one…