Revisited: ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival 2020

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:

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. 

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: