SPA25 Babies Don't Come with Instructions

Set against the breathtaking volcanic landscapes of Lanzarote, this Spanish box office hit comedy stars Paco León (Staring at Strangers, The House of Flowers) as a carefree man, living a hedonistic and self-centered life in a small coastal town in the Canary Islands. Leo’s world is upended when Julia (Silvia Alonso, Wishlist), an old flame, arrives from Bilbao and drops off a baby only a few months old in Leo's arms, claiming she is his daughter, and leaves. Propelled into fatherhood, he is determined to return the girl to her mother and travels to Bilbao to do so, but his attempts fail. Forced to raise her, he begins to learn how to be a father, and his values shift in unexpected ways. Years pass, filled with happiness, affection and love, until one day Julia reappears in their lives, intending to reclaim custody of her daughter. Combining laughter and heartfelt emotion, this new adaptation of the Mexican hit from Marina Seresesky (Let the Dance Begin)is a delightful and entertaining father-daughter story.

SPA25 Samana Sunrise

María Luisa Mayol (Fatum), Bárbara Santa-Cruz (If I Were Rich), Luis Zahera (The Realm) and Luis Tosar (also in Undercover) star in this sun-soaked, entertaining relationship comedy full of twists and turns from Rafa Cortés, based on the play Cancún by Jordi Galcerán. Samaná, Dominican Republic. Two couples, Ale and Santi, and Natalia and Mario, are celebrating their twenty-year friendship at a resort. Carried away by the happiness of being with her friends and fuelled by rum, Ale decides to share a confession from the past about the night the four of them met, leading to a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment. The following morning, Ale wakes somewhat confused and with a heavy hangover, but events soon begin to take a completely unexpected and hilarious, yet ultimately cathartic, turn. As the strength of their relationships and friendships is put to the test, revealing hidden attractions and frustrations, they are confronted with comparisons of who they are and what their lives could have been.

SPA25 El 47

A Spanish box office smash hit and 5-time winner at the 2025 Goya Awards, El 47 tells the incredible true story of an act of peaceful dissent and a grassroots neighbourhood movement that transformed Barcelona and the image of its suburbs forever. 1978. Torre Baró is a neighbourhood of shacks, built by people from Extremadura and Andalusia. Although the neighbourhood has been requesting improvements for years, they have been ignored by the state. Manolo Vital (Eduard Fernández, also in Marco, an Invented Truth) is a bus driver on line 47. Encouraged by his neighbours to get involved in their fight, and to debunk City Council’s claims that buses cannot climb the hills in the district, one day Manolo decides to hijack his own bus and drive it to his neighbourhood. Directed by Barcelona-born Marcel Barrena (Mediterráneo: Law of the Sea) El 47 is a rousing drama about neighbourhood pride, natural justice and the power of people coming together to create change and shape modern Barcelona.

SPA25 The Goldsmith's Secret

Adapted from Elia Barceló's critically acclaimed novel, this timeless, epic romance directed by Olga Osorio is a remarkable story of impossible love. Set across decades, this captivating tale delves into the passionate relationship of a couple whose love is trapped between parallel times. 1999. Juan Pablo (Mario Casas), a skilled goldsmith, embarks on a journey from Spain to New York where he will exhibit some of his latest works. Before leaving, a visit to his hometown triggers memories from 25 years earlier. Plunged into a flashback, his journey takes him back in time to the summer when he met the woman who would change his life forever: Celia (Michelle Jenner), a forty-year-old seamstress. But unfortunately, their age difference pre-determines their great, passionate love story is doomed from the beginning. Determined to alter their fate, Juan Pablo endeavours to rewrite their story, making a solemn promise to Celia before his return to 1999. But can their love transcend the confines of time, or is it destined to be lost forever?

SPA25 Wolfgang

A box office hit in Spain, this heartwarming comedy directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera is an emotional and amusing tribute to fatherhood that follows the journey of a nine-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder and exceptional abilities. Nine-year-old Wolfgang has an IQ of 125, and dreams of becoming the greatest pianist in the world. After the sudden death of his beloved mother, he is forced to live in Barcelona with his estranged actor father, Carles (played by talented comedy actor Miki Esparbé), whom he has never seen. While Carles rises to this new challenge, Wolfgang cannot stand his father’s messiness and is obsessed with the idea of running away to Paris to study at the revered Grimald Academy. But although Wolfgang dreams big, his biggest challenge will be to get along with his father. Adapted from Laia Aguilar’s best-selling novel, Wolfgang is an irreverent comedy about happiness, family, childhood dreams and feeling different from others, that has become the most successful cinematic release ever for a Catalan language film.

SPA25 Mugaritz. No Bread, No Dessert

This delicious documentary and winner of the Culinary Zinema Award at the 2024 San Sebastián International Film Festival is a fascinating behind the scenes look at the prestigious two Michelin star restaurant Mugaritz, located in the Basque Country, Spain. Opened in 1998 under the management of Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, Mugaritz has been considered one of the world's best restaurants since 2006. Striving to push the limits of gastronomy, every year the team at the Mugaritz works behind closed doors from November to April to design a completely different gastronomic offering. Every season is a leap into the unknown, as they strip everything back, starting again with a clean slate. This creative challenge is then shared with the curious diners, inviting them to open their mind and not only their mouth when they dine there. Inside the avant-garde kitchen, director Paco Plaza observes the staff and their creative processes, capturing the formation of ambitious, experimental dishes, encouraged by the Mugaritz mantra of “No bread, no dessert”.

SPA25 The Quiet Maid

Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, The Quiet Maid is a subversive and striking portrait of a woman’s journey to empowerment. Directed and co-written by Miguel Faus in his directorial debut, this compelling class conflict drama and highly entertaining satirical tale explores an intimate glimpse of the duty and quiet rebellion simmering beneath the complex relationships of the house and the help. In a luxurious Spanish mansion in the sunny Costa Brava, young Colombian Ana (a captivating Paula Grimaldo) works as a maid for a wealthy family enjoying their summer holidays. She is quiet and discreet, doing as she is told and working tirelessly. Among cocktails and cleaning, Ana discovers that she can find her own ways of enjoying the summer and socialising with the maid of the neighbouring house. But in this world of glaring inequalities, Ana will need to summon her cunning and determination to turn the tables on her employers.

SPA25 Nine Queens Anniversary Remastered

Ricardo Darín (The Secret in Their Eyes) and Gaston Pauls lead an all-star cast in clever crime thriller Nine Queens rated an impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary and is now remastered into 4K. Small-time swindlers Juan and Marcos usually work in the streets for a couple of coins. One morning they meet each other and are involved by chance in a half a million-dollar business involving rare stamps – the ‘Nine Queens’. An urgent and unique opportunity, over the following twenty-four hours they go through an experience that will change their lives. As they play along, they reveal the unknown world of thieves and swindlers, in a jungle where everyone contributes their small share of corruption. Like a game, Marcos' lessons to his young and inexperienced colleague begin to resemble the day’s events, and each revelation seems to hide a lie; each promise uncovers a trap. Because when deceit is the name of the game, the truth becomes an obstacle.

SPA25 Las Tres Sisters

Facing the highs and lows of life, three estranged Mexican American sisters reunite to honour their beloved grandmother by following in her footsteps and completing a pilgrimage through rural Mexico to Talpa de Allende. When eldest sister María (Marta Méndez Cross) receives troubling health news, she hatches a plan to bring together her siblings—ambitious lawyer Lucía (Valeria Maldonado) and free-spirited Sofía (Virginia Novello)—hoping the journey will mend their fractured bond. Armed with an old map, no hiking experience, and plenty of emotional baggage, the sisters set off on the six-day ‘Camino’ trek. Along the way, they encounter colourful locals, comic detours, and poignant memories—until they meet Kin (Cristo Fernández, Ted Lasso), a charismatic botanist with a mysterious past, whose presence changes their path in unexpected ways. A tender story of sisterhood and secrets, Las Tres Sisters is a heartwarming, visually stunning story of healing, laughter and the quiet miracles found on the road back to each other.

SPA25 Summer in December

Featuring an all-star cast including Carmen Machi (Spanish Affair), Barbara Lennie (The Girls Are Alright), Victoria Luengo (The Room Next Door) and Irene Escolar (The Girls Are Alright), Summer in December is a bittersweet tale about navigating family bonds and the search for happiness. Four generations of women gather in Madrid for a family reunion organised by Teresa (Machi) to commemorate the anniversary of her late husband’s passing. She is joined by her four thirty-something daughters, her granddaughter, and her nonagenarian mother-in-law, who has senile dementia and lives under her care. The sisters' distinct personalities: the caregiver, the rebel, the crazy one, the adventurous yet absent one, soon trigger personality clashes. As tensions rise among the sisters, secrets are revealed, forcing them to confront their frustrations, fears and desires. Written and directed by actress/playwright Carolina África, in her feature film debut, this dramatic comedy is a beautiful tribute to family and an ode to life, highlighting the beauty of the everyday.

SPA25 A Silent Death

Set on the edge of the spectacular Andes, this 1980s Patagonia-set thriller from Sebastián Schindel (The Wrath of God, The Crimes that Bind) is a classic edge of the seat crime-story and gripping tale of guilt, suspicion and truth. In the depths of Patagonia, hunting guide Octavio (Joaquín Furriel) works with Klaus (Alejandro Awada), when one day, Octavio wakes from a drunken night only to stumble upon a shocking crime involving his niece. Haunted by events from his past and with his memory of the fateful night a blur, Octavio tries to piece together the truth of what happened. Navigating a tangled web of suspicion, and facing the possibility of betrayal, Octavio embarks on an investigation that will force him to confront the haunting secrets of the past. Relying on a few mysterious photos and the wisdom of a former police commissioner, he uncovers a youthful romance, and a photographer obsessed with guns as he pieces the puzzle together.

SPA25 I Am Nevenka

From acclaimed filmmaker Icíar Bollaín (Maixabel, Rosa’s Wedding) I am Nevanka is a taut, gripping drama about consent and structures of power. Inspired by the true case of Nevenka Fernández, considered the first #metoo case in the country, her story marked a pivotal point in the history of Spanish workplace relations. Young, beautiful and full of dreams, Nevenka Fernández (a magnetic Mireia Oriol) is 23 years old when she starts working at the City Council of Ponferrada. The Mayor (Urko Olazabal), a man accustomed to getting his own way professionally and personally, quickly becomes infatuated with her. Faced with his inappropriate behaviour, Nevanka stands up to her superior and decides to report him, resulting in a court case. Facing the media, her city and public opinion of a country who questioned her intimate life and behaviour, she faces a fight against the odds. Despite the controversy that captivated Spain, Nevanka’s 2002 campaign for justice would set a precedent for future cases.

SPA25 Little Loves

Two-time award winner at the 2024 Málaga Film Festival, Little Loves is an intense and emotional duel from up-and-coming director Celia Rico Clavellino that delves into the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. A beautifully poetic and contemplative film, this nuanced drama features compelling performances from Adriana Ozores and María Vázquez. With meticulous attention to detail, Little Loves intimately explores the telling small gestures, glances, and frictions between a mother and her daughter. When her proudly independent mother Ani (Ozores) has a minor accident when attempting to repaint her house, Teresa (Vázquez) changes her summer holiday plans to help her out over the summer. In the idyllic countryside, mother and daughter, each accustomed to living on their own, spend a summer together. However, while their forced coexistence brings simmering tensions, guilt and resentment to the surface, it also raises more profound matters and during warm summer nights, the two begin to reappraise their relationship and experience some revealing moments.

SPA25 Ask Me What You Want

The best-selling eponymous novel by Spanish romance writer Megan Maxwell makes its highly anticipated leap to the screen in this seductive romance directed by Lucía Alemany (The Innocence). Starring Gabriela Andrada (Your Fault) and Mario Ermito (Elite) Ask Me What You Want is a sizzling story of passion and secrets. After his father's death, businessman Eric Zimmerman (Ermito) travels to Spain to oversee his company's branches. In Madrid, he falls for Judith (Andrada) after their initial meeting in an elevator. As Eric takes an interest in Judith's brilliance and talent, Judith is seduced by Eric's attention. She agrees to enter his private world, a realm of secret sensual games, and the two engage in an intense, erotic relationship full of exploration and pleasure. With each clandestine meeting, Eric's desire intensifies, and Judith falls deeper, without inhibition. However, as their connection grows, she begins to question the secrets Eric is hiding behind his enticing smile and wonders how far she is willing to go to uncover them.

SPA25 Marco, the Invented Truth

Directed by Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño (The Endless Trench) Marco, the Invented Truth is a gripping moral thriller inspired by the unbelievable true story of Enric Marco, featuring Eduard Fernández in a standout performance. Intertwining reality and fiction, this fascinating tale of truth and deception explores the story of a concentration camp deportee from Spain who turned out to have never existed. A charismatic man and chameleon, for many years Enric Marco maintained a deeply complex, unimaginable lie: that he had been a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. Building a public persona as one of the 9,000 Spaniards interned in German camps after the Spanish Civil War, he became a prominent and admired figure for his supposed bravery and suffering. Deceiving the public, the media, his colleagues and his family, he rose to the heights of the presidency of the Spanish Association of Holocaust Victims. But one day, when a historian begins asking questions, the truth finally catches up as his intricate web of lies begins to unravel.

SPA25 Baby

Filled with moments of surprising tenderness, writer/director Marcelo Caetano's vibrant new Brazilian drama is a colourful, empathetic ode to found family, and a superb homage to the city of São Paulo and the people who struggle to survive in it. São Paulo's streets can offer danger or opportunity, and for Wellington (aka Baby), they deliver both. After being released from a juvenile detention center, 18-year-old Baby (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself alone and adrift, without any contact from his parents and lacking the resources to rebuild his life. He encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a mature and handsome sex worker, who takes him under his wing and teaches him new ways of surviving. Gradually, their fiery relationship turns into a conflicting passion, oscillating between exploitation and protection, jealousy and complicity, and as he’s drawn further into Ronaldo’s world, Wellington must decide what he really wants from life.

SPA25 May I Speak with the Enemy?

Newcomer Óscar Lasarte delivers a standout performance as Miguel Gila in this witty yet sensitive tribute to the comedian, who pioneered stand-up comedy in Spain. Directed and co-written by Alexis Morante, May I Speak with the Enemy? is a heartfelt and amusing tragicomedy, based on incredible true events and Miguel Gila’s own monologues. 1936. Teenager Miguel Gila lives a simple life with his grandparents in a working-class neighborhood in Madrid. Despite the family’s difficulties, their home is happy. Miguel enjoys accompanying his grandmother to the cinema, helping his grandfather with his woodwork and having adventures with his neighborhood friends, led by his best friend Pedro. But the outbreak of the Civil War changes Miguel’s destiny. He is scared, but spurred on by Pedro, he joins the war, promising his grandmother that he will return safe and sound and not leave his friend’s side. Taking his optimism and sense of humour with him to the trenches, he managed to survive a multitude of misfortunes that would later inspire his comedy.

SPA25 The Bus of Life

Andrés (Dani Rovira, Spanish Affair), a music teacher from Madrid, finds his life at a crossroads when he's assigned to a high school in a remote Basque town. Recently turning 40 and still clinging to the dream of becoming a musician, he feels stuck—his stage fright keeping his true passion just out of reach. But everything changes when he begins taking a quirky coach to Bilbao. Onboard, his fellow travellers’ warmth, humour, and unfiltered honesty spark something in him. Among them is a luminescent young woman with whom Andrés begins to find a surprising connection. Through laughter, friendship, and unexpected feelings, Andrés begins to rediscover his confidence and reignite his passion for music. What starts as a reluctant move soon turns into a transformative journey—one that might finally lead him to the life, he’s always dreamed of. From the Oscar-nominated producers of Robot Dreams and inspired by the real-life experiences of a relative of director Ibón Cormenzana (Beyond the Summit), The Bus of Life is a life-affirming, music-filled journey.

SPA25 The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés

The 2025 Goya Award winner of Best Documentary Feature Film, The Flamenco Guitar of Yerai Cortés is a fascinating collaborative piece between debut director Anton Álvarez (aka musician C. Tangana) and Yerai Cortés, a rising star in Spain’s flamenco scene. When Anton Álvarez (aka C. Tangana) met Yerai Cortés at a party, where Cortés played guitar for Montse Cortés under the Starlight satellites, and told Álvarez of his album project, this film was born. Known for his refined, unique style, Cortés’ life is marked by a dark family secret and a sorrow he longs to share with the world. As Álvarez meets Cortés’ family and explores their tumultuous relationships, secrets and joys, the film delves deeper into the heart of his internal conflict. A unique musical experience featuring some spectacular set pieces of flamenco, this superb documentary about love, passion, forgiveness, family and the artistic process combines the power of flamenco music with the weight of a family secret that must come to light.

SPA25 Undercover

Co-Winner of Best Film at the 2025 Goya Awards, Undercover is a gripping crime thriller set in the Basque Country, based on the real-life story of Aranzazu Berradre Marín, the pseudonym for the only police officer in Spanish history to infiltrate the terrorist organisation ETA. Directed by Arantxa Echevarría and featuring standout performances from Carolina Yuste (Jokes & Cigarettes) and Luis Tosar (also in Samana Sunrise), this incredible story of intrigue and suspense unfolds over the years that Marín was undercover, showcasing her extraordinary bravery in the face of a mind-shattering fear of discovery. After years undercover, posing as a young sympathiser within the Abertzale circles, police officer Marín (Yuste) finally gets her break when ETA reaches out, asking for her help. Now, the most dangerous mission of her life begins: reporting back to her superiors while living side-by-side with the operatives — all without letting her true motives slip.

SPA25 The Stepmother's Bond

Featuring the stellar trio of Alexandra Jiménez (Under Therapy, Idol Affair), Juan Diego Botto (The Room Next Door), and Ruth Gabriel (The Goya Murders) this delicate drama explores parenthood, separation and blended families. For years, Paula (Jiménez) has raised her partner Raúl’s six-year-old son Dani as if he were her own, forming a special connection. However, her relationship with Raúl is in crisis, and their separation would put her bond with Dani at risk. Facing the pain of a possible goodbye, Paula struggles to maintain her place in the life of the child she loves deeply. A powerful tale of family and emotion that examines the legal loopholes faced by couples with children from a previous relationship, and the complex bonds that transcend genetics, the film asks whether DNA is more important than affection. The feature film debut of Yolanda Centeno, selected by Variety in 2021 as one of the ‘10 Women Directors to Watch from Spain’, this moving drama has autobiographical touches, inspired by Centeno’s own experience.

SPA25 Ocho (8)

Fresh from the 2025 Málaga Film Festival, this enchanting and daring love story from Julio Medem, one of Spain’s most distinctive cinematic voices, follows a couple’s tumultuous relationship over the course of eight decades. Set across eight defining moments in Spain’s history between 1931 and 2021, this unmissable tale of fate, defiance and passion follows Octavio and Adela, born on the same day in neighbouring villages. Across decades of connection, separation, and change, they are bound by an invisible thread that pulls them together, experiencing longing, reunion and heartbreak. As Civil War edges closer and family loyalties are tested, Octavio and Adela must find their way through a world determined to pull them apart, in this story of love shaped by history, and a connection that endures across time. Set against the backdrop of pivotal moments in Spain and Europe’s 20th Century history, this ambitious project stars Javier Rey (The Sleeping Woman, Beyond the Summit), Ana Rujas and Álvaro Morte (Money Heist) in a magnificent story of love, passion, history and forgiveness.

SPA25 El Jockey

An unforgettable tale of life, death and freedom directed and co-written by Luis Ortega (El Ángel). El Jockey is a quirky, stylish and absurdist thriller about a clash between the inner and outer worlds of a troubled jockey. Remo Manfredini (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) is a legendary jockey, but his self-destructive behaviour is beginning to outshine his talent and threaten his relationship with Abril (Ursula Corberó, Money Heist). Abril, an up-and-coming jockey, is pregnant with Remo’s baby, but is also determined to pursue success in racing. The two race for Sirena (Daniel Giménez Cacho), a mobster boss who saved Remo's life in the past. On the day of the race that could wipe clean his debts to Sirena, Remo crashes hard, disappears from the hospital and wanders the streets of Buenos Aires. Freed from his usual identity, Remo begins to discover who he is truly meant to be. But Sirena wants him found, dead or alive, and will stop at nothing to hunt him down.

SPA25 Electrophilia

From acclaimed Argentinian writer-director Lucía Puenzo (XXY, Dive, The German Doctor, La Jauría) this eerie dramatic thriller asks what it means to be human. During a storm in the countryside, veterinarian Ada (Mariana Di Girolamo, Ema, La Jauría) is struck by lightning. Upon waking from a coma after the incident, she finds herself forever changed after experiencing a major physical and psychological reconfiguration. In addition to the visible mark of the strike that traces its path across her body, she is disturbed by a series of strange symptoms she is unable to control. Ada finds support in a group of lightning strike survivors who are adjusting to life after being struck. They find themselves becoming increasingly captivated by the power of electricity, and the magnetic doctor they blindly trust. On Ada's quest towards rebuilding her sense of self, she finds that the path toward electrophilia will be a journey with no return.

SPA25 Linda

Loosely based on the Argentine folk legend of Deolinda Correa, this feature film debut from Mariana Wainstein is an enthralling drama about class tensions, power dynamics and desire. Self-assured, enigmatic, and effortlessly alluring, Linda (Eugenia “China” Suárez) steps into the role of housemaid in place of her cousin at the elegant home of a wealthy Buenos Aires family. Surrounded by order, affluence, and routine, the household appears pristine, but Linda is no passive presence. As she blends domestic duties with moments of quiet rebellion, her very being unsettles the family’s delicate balance. What begins as subtle disruption soon gives way to bolder transgressions. Linda’s unique magnetism stirs long-repressed needs in each family member, awakening fantasies and exposing the fragile façade of their contented lives. As secrets come to light, Linda discovers that seduction is power—and beneath the surface of privilege lies a far more complicated truth.

SPA25 Mazel Tov

Directed by and starring Adrián Suar (A Boyfriend for My Wife), Argentinian box office hit Mazel Tov is a bittersweet and heartfelt family drama about forgiveness, sibling rivalry, letting go, and coming home. Darío lives in the USA and is estranged from his father and brothers. He decides to travel to his hometown in Argentina to attend his sister’s wedding and his niece’s Bat Mitzvah, seeing his return as an opportunity to rebuild his family ties. But the devastating news of his father’s untimely passing a few hours prior to boarding the plane changes everything. Together, the family must gather for the funeral whilst determining how to handle the postponement of both the wedding and Bat Mitzvah. While Darío is determined to celebrate the two significant events, his siblings are divided. Amidst emotional turmoil and comic outbursts, old frustrations come to the surface and tensions boil over. Will it be too late for reflection and redemption or will the spirit of Yom Kippur aid forgiveness as they move from mourning to celebration.

SPA25 Milonga

Written and directed by Laura González in her debut feature film, Milonga is a compelling drama about the ghosts of the past and the possibilities of the future. Living a quiet, suburban existence with her beloved dog, Rosa (Paulina García) remains tied down to the memory of her late husband and their troubled marriage, still abiding by his rules even though he passed six months ago. Full of contradictions, Rosa is estranged from her only son Sergio and finds herself alone, distanced from her only family. When a friend introduces her to the world of tango, she soon meets Juan, a divorced man who shares her passion for the dance, invigorating her life as she begins to rediscover herself. But before she can fully embrace change and live in the present, she is confronted with some uncomfortable truths. A story about the courage needed to break free from the past, Milonga is a poignant tale of redemption and resilience.

SPA25 No Guilt

Valeria Bertucelli stars in and co-directs alongside Mora Elizalde this fascinating story of a successful writer’s fall from grace. Berta Muller (Bertucelli), a successful self-help writer, has just released a new book. To rest and have a digital detox, she decides to travel to Uruguay with her daughter, Olivia (Gaia Garibaldi), to the home of her friend and personal lawyer Carola (Cecilia Roth, All About My Mother). Her seemingly perfect life is completely shaken up when, at the peak of her career, she is accused of a significant case of plagiarism. As the scandal erupts, her life and works are picked apart by the media and people on social media. Far from assuming responsibility, she denies the accusations and tries to justify herself, even if it means exposing all her darkness and secrets. Exploring the relationships between women, individualism, social media and the curation of the self, No Guilt is a highly resonant tragicomedy that invites reflection on today’s society.

SPA25 Through Rocks and Clouds

Eight-year-old Feliciano spends his days looking after alpacas in a remote region of the Andes. His only companions are Ronaldo, a young alpaca, and Rambo, an old dog. During his long days watching the alpacas grazing, he chats with them about football and his excitement that Peru has a chance to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. However, his community and the region’s delicate ecosystem are in jeopardy, due to contamination of the pastures and pressure from a mining company. As Feliciano goes about his daily life, the village residents decide to take their fate into their own hands, organising themselves to withstand pressure from the mining company to sell their land.  From director Franco García Becerra, Through Rocks and Clouds is a sensitive Quechua-language drama seen through the hopeful gaze of Feliciano that exposes the risks and difficulties faced by Andean and indigenous communities. Set against a breathtaking backdrop of the snowcapped Andes, this is a poignant tale of resilience and community in the face of socio-environmental conflict.

SPA25 What We Wanted to be

In this long-awaited return to directing of auteur Alejandro Agresti (The Lake House), one of the great names of recent Latin American cinema, veteran actors Luis Rubio and Eleonora Wexler star in this stunning and intimate story of the illusion of love. Outside a Buenos Aires cinema, a man and a woman begin discussing the film they have just seen, continuing their conversation in a nearby café. There, they begin to construct a fantasy world where they can become who they have always wanted to be (a romantic novelist and an astronaut). Meeting every Thursday at the same time, in the same place, they live as their dream selves and soon begin to fall in love. But while imagination triumphs over reality for a time, soon they must come to terms with whether they can be together in the real world. Featuring brilliant dialogue and moments of magic, What We Wanted to Be is an emotional chamber drama and a beautiful tribute to cinema as a place for dreams.