In April 2024 we celebrate 30 years of our annual ¡Viva! Festival, honouring three decades of sharing exciting cinema from across the Spanish-speaking world. We’ve curated a fantastic line-up of 27 features and 10 short films, with an emphasis on warm-hearted comedies, as well as a few deeper dives and more weighty dramas. We’re proud to present multiple UK premieres, Q&As with filmmakers and introductions by experts. Plus, some fantastic archive treats from Spanish maestros Víctor Erice and Juan Antonio Bardem, Argentine feminist pioneer María Luisa Bemberg, and our perennial ¡Viva! favourite Álex de la Iglesia.
Join the celebrations on the opening night for the UK premiere of a magical coming-of-age story from Andalusia, Secaderos, followed by three weeks of comedy, drama, documentary and more, as ¡Viva! 2024 transports you from Manchester to the furthest reaches of Spain and Latin America.
¡Disfrutad el festival!
The full festival programme is now live! Download your digital copy of HOME’s ¡Viva! Brochure, featuring Los Buenos modales on the front cover.
Click the image below to download the pdf:
Tickets on sale for Friends Wed 28 Feb, Members Thu 29 Feb, General Fri 1 Mar
All films will begin at the advertised time with no adverts or trailers. All films are in Spanish with English subtitles unless otherwise noted. All age certificates are local to Manchester City Council, aside from the BBFC-rated titles El Día de la bestia, El Espíritu de la colmena, Miss Mary and Camila.
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. Miss Mary and Camila are presented by Invisible Women, Natalia Christofoletti Barrenha and Julia Kratje. Additional programme support from the Instituto Cervantes and CinemaAttic.
¡Viva! 2024 is produced by HOME with the support of the Embassy of Spain in London, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery.
In this festival
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – Te estoy amando locamente
Dr Abigail Loxham, University of Liverpool, explores Alejandro Marín's Te estoy amando locamente, screening as part of ¡Viva! Festival 2024 on 10 & 13 Apr.
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – Secaderos
Dr Carlos van Tongeren, University of Manchester, explores Rocío Mesa’s Secaderos, screening as part of ¡Viva! Festival 2024 on 5, 13 & 25 Apr.
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – Valentina o la serenidad
Dr Carmen Herrero, Manchester Metropolitan University, explores Ángeles Cruz’s Valentina o la serenidad, screening as part of ¡Viva! Festival 2024 on 17 & 20 Apr.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Fantástico caso del Golem + Q&A
A fantastically surreal comedy with a unique aesthetic, which begins with Juan witnessing his best friend falling from a building and, bizarrely, smashing into ceramic…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Los Buenos modales + Short
A comedy about two feuding sisters in Andalusia, and the clumsy, suburban, fairy godmother types who try to reunite them.
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – La Práctica
Dr Ignacio Aguiló, University of Manchester, explores Martín Rejtman’s La Práctica, screening as part of ¡Viva! Festival 2024 on 6 & 16 Apr.
Blogs
¡Viva! Film Notes – María Luisa Bemberg
Camilla Baier, co-founder of Invisible Women, explores María Luisa Bemberg’s Miss Mary and Camila, screening as part of ¡Viva! Festival 2024 on 20, 21 & 24…
Previously in this Festival
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Empieza el baile + Q&A
Three septuagenarians, bound together by a passion for tango, embark on an exciting adventure from Madrid to the foothills of the Andes, via Buenos Aires.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Secaderos + Intro
A psychedelic rural drama and delightful coming-of-age story about growing up in the Granada area.
Cinema
Miss Mary + Intro
Julie Christie plays a governess hired by a family who represented the ruling elite in Argentina; but their patrician dream is shattered when Juan Domingo…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ La Suprema + Q&A + Intro
An Afro-Colombian teenager battles the odds to watch her uncle box for the world title live on TV, and to put her remote village on…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Cuco + Short
A cautionary tale of aspirations that builds tension to a crescendo without resorting to horror clichés and easy scares. Be careful who you let into…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Un Cel de plom + Q&A
A gripping historical drama recounting part of the remarkable life of resistance fighter Neus Català – Catalan, feminist and anti-fascist.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Heroico
At the Heroic Military College, 18-year-old Luis encounters a rigid and institutionally violent system designed to turn him into a perfect soldier.
Cinema
Camila + Intro
Based on the true story of Camila O’Gorman, a young woman from the mid-19th century Buenos Aires upper class, who scandalously fell in love with…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Blondi
With an atmospheric Velvet Underground soundtrack, this is a punky, quirky drama from Buenos Aires about a single mum, Blondi, and her teenage son.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Valentina o la serenidad + Short + Intro
This moving story film delves into the Mexican forest to show the curative power of love overcoming grief, as a child seeks her father between…
event
Café Cervantes 2024
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.
Cinema
La Llegada + Short
Diego and Elena are moving to the USA to start a new life, but will a psychologically gruelling interrogation by border officers reveal that they…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Rebelión
Packed with fantastically exuberant music, this is a stylish biopic about the late Colombian musician Joe Arroyo; tormented genius and superstar of the 1980s salsa…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Mamacruz + Short
In this delightful drama with a sprinkling of comedy, a Catholic grandmother from Seville stumbles across some internet pornography and triggers a gentle sexual and…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ En temporada baja
Set on a campsite near Valencia, this laugh-out-loud comedy explores the camaraderie and burgeoning friendships amongst four men experiencing a low season.
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Mari(dos)
A raucously funny film about two men embroiled in a fight over who is the better husband; as the saloon doors swing open in a…
Cinema
La Práctica + Intro
Gustavo, an Argentinian yoga instructor living in Chile, feels an early mid-life crisis brewing as the problems pile on with perfect comic timing.
Cinema
CinemaAttic: Contemporary Shorts from Spain + Intro
Five new short films that create a cinematic journey; wander from Gothic sci-fi to ghostly layers of archive footage, and from late night karaoke to…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ El Viento que arrasa
A charismatic travelling minister in rural Argentina has destined his teenage daughter to be his constant companion and lackey; but this is the calm before…
Cinema
UK Premiere/ Chinas
Set in Madrid’s vibrant Chinatown, this bittersweet drama shares insights into the immigrant experience in Spain from the perspective of three girls with Chinese heritage.
Cinema
El Espíritu de la colmena + Intro
In the month that Víctor Erice’s swansong, Close Your Eyes, is released in UK cinemas, we pay homage to the great auteur with a look…
Cinema
Te estoy amando locamente + Intro
A cheekily combative comedy about a devoted mother who, after her son’s coming-out, overcomes her own prejudices to fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1970s,…
event
Language Lab/ Los Buenos modales
A bespoke study session for adult Spanish language learners and film fans. Conversational Spanish recommended.
Cinema
El Día de la bestia at CULTPLEX
The return of Álex de la Iglesia’s comedy-horror classic, screening at CULTPLEX. Teaming up with a young death metal fan and a TV parapsychologist, a…
Cinema
Cómicos + Intro
Juan Antonio Bardem's magnificently acerbic portrait of theatre companies and the acting profession, with all its highs and lows.
