Fri 10 Mar – Thu 30 Mar 2023
Now in its 29th year, ¡Viva! returns for our annual celebration of Spanish and Latin American culture, bringing you a programme of the most exciting cinema from across the Spanish-speaking world. This year we screen 22 new feature films, including multiple UK cinema premieres, along with filmmaker Q&As, film introductions and other opportunities to get involved. Plus plenty of archive cinema treats – a classic from Juan Antonio Bardem, the UK premiere of 1970s hidden gems by fellow Spaniard Cecilia Bartolomé, and a programme of shorts from a Mexican feminist film collective.
Join us on the opening night for the UK premiere of a joyous coming-of-age comedy from Spain, Llenos de gracia (Full of Grace, Roberto Bueso, 2022), followed by three weeks of engaging drama, fascinating documentary and thrilling tension, as ¡Viva! 2023 serves up slices of life and flights of fancy from all corners of Spain and Latin America.
The full festival programme is now live! Download your digital copy of HOME’s ¡Viva! Brochure, featuring Los Reyes del mundo on the front cover.
Click the image below to download the pdf:
Tickets will be on sale for Friends 9 Feb, Members 10 Feb, General 13 Feb
The festival is curated by Rachel Hayward, Head of Film Strategy, 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 additional programme support from the Instituto Cervantes, the Leading Women project funded by the AHRC, and the Invisible Women archive activist film collective.
¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Festival is produced by HOME with the support of the Embassy of Spain in London, MUBI, and the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery
In this festival
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Llenos de gracia
A rebellious nun arrives at a boarding school to take charge of an unruly bunch of orphan boys, and changes lives with a make-shift football…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Llegaron de noche
From Imanol Uribe comes a powerful depiction of the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador in 1989.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Visitante
Set in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba, the film is a sombre meditation on class, family relationships, and the increasing power of Evangelism in…
Cinema
Cinco lobitos
Amaia has just become a mother. Feeling overwhelmed and with her partner away, she seeks refuge with her parents in the hope that they will…
event
Intro/ Cinco lobitos
The screening on Sat 11 Mar will be introduced by Dr Carmen Herrero, Manchester Metropolitan University.
event
La Voluntaria Q&A
The screening on Sat 11 Mar will be followed by a Q&A with writer-director Nely Reguera.
Cinema
La Voluntaria
Marisa, a recently retired doctor, travels to a Greek refugee camp with a group of Spanish volunteers.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ No mires a los ojos
Damián, a carpenter with 20 years of service for one company, is driven wild by his sudden dismissal and runs off to hide in the…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Estación catorce
A bitter-sweet tale from the fragile world of a little boy discovering the mysteries and complexities of life in rural Mexico.
Cinema
Nuestros días más felices
One day, Agatha, 74, wakes up in the body of a little girl: as herself, but at the age of eight. A lovely, life-affirming tale…
event
Nuestros días más felices Q&A
The screening on Sun 12 Mar will be followed by a Q&A with writer-director Sol Berruezo Pichon-Riviére.
Cinema
Los Reyes del mundo
Five street kids from Medellin, kings without kingdom, law or family, looking for The Promised Land.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Women’s Work: Three short films from Cine Mujer
A programme of three films from the Cine Mujer collective, rarely screened outside Mexico, which tackle gender roles, domestic labour and sex work.
Cinema
La Maternal
What does it mean to be a mother, or a child? Age 14, Carla is both. A wild child living with a toxic single mother,…
event
Intro/ Women’s Work: Three short films from Cine Mujer
This screening will be introduced by Camilla Baier, co-founder of Invisible Women.
event
Intro/ La Maternal
The screening on Tue 14 Mar will be introduced by Dr Abi Loxham, University of Liverpool.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ La Casa entre los cactus
Adapted from a best-selling novel of the same name, Carlota González-Adrio’s feature debut explores a dark secret that haunts a seemingly perfect family.
event
La Casa entre los cactus Q&A
The screening on Wed 15 Mar will be followed by a Q&A with writer- director Carlota González-Adrio.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Libélulas
Without jobs or a future, Álex and Cata have forever dreamed of leaving their neighbourhood, as they plan their escape, they enjoy each night as…
event
Libélulas Q&A
The screening on Thu 16 Mar will be followed by a Q&A with writer-director Luc Knowles.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Tiempos futuros
In a dystopian future version of Lima, 12-year-old Teo and his father work feverishly on a mysterious machine designed to bring rainfall to a city…
event
Intro/ Tiempos futuros
The screening on Fri 17 Mar will be introduced by Dr Ignacio Aguiló, University of Manchester.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ 8 cuentos sobre mi hipoacusia
Charo Mato weaves together stories and questions, using memories, interviews and home video footage to examine her childhood and the experiences of family members.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Escape Room: La Pel.licula
Four friends; one escape room; a lot of secrets; and only one way out: the truth.
event
Language Lab/ Vasil
Ana Valbuena from the Instituto Cervantes Manchester presents our bespoke study session for adult Spanish language learners and film fans.
Cinema
Muerte de un ciclista
After the death of a cyclist in a hit-and-run accident, an adulterous couple flee the scene for fear of losing their social standing.
event
Intro/ Muerte de un ciclista
This screening will be introduced by Andy Willis, University of Salford.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ La Hija de todas las rabias
María and her mother eke out a living on the edge of an immense rubbish dump. Their future depends on selling a litter of purebred…
Cinema
Tengo sueños eléctricos
Clinging onto her father as he goes through a second adolescence, 16-year-old Eva balances between the sensitive naivety of teenage life and the ruthlessness of…
event
Post-screening discussion/ Modelo 77
The screening on Thu 23 Mar will be followed by a discussion with Dr Carlos van Tongeren, University of Manchester.
Cinema
The Vertical Border
Interviews with journalists, aid workers and academics across El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and the USA delve into history and expose the current migration crisis.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ ¡Vámonos, Bárbara!
To the horror of her family, Ana decides to leave her husband and head off on a road trip to the coast, taking her 12-year-old…
event
Café Cervantes 2023
Come and practise your language skills while sharing your opinions on this year’s ¡Viva! programme. We recommend language learners have intermediate level Spanish or above.
event
Post-screening discussion/ ¡Vámonos, Bárbara!
This screening will be followed by a discussion with core members of the AHRC-funded research project Leading Women in Portuguese and Spanish Cinema and Television,1970-1980.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Two short films by Cecilia Bartolomé
While enrolled in Spain’s Official Film School in the 1960s, Cecilia Bartolomé made these short films focused on the challenges women faced under the regressive…
event
Intro/ Two short films by Cecilia Bartolomé
This screening will be introduced by Prof. Sally Faulkner, University of Exeter.