It’s been 15 years since Natalia Ortiz created the Spanish Film Festival to promote the amazing work being done in the Spanish film industry – a cause close to her heart. “When I came to Australia from Spain 17 years ago, I didn’t feel like the Spanish films we’d get here were indicative of what was really happening there,” she says.
When a friend suggested she start a film festival, she laughed the idea off – at first. “I started looking into it and eventually it happened, which was a miracle in itself because I didn’t have a clue how a festival worked.”
Ortiz says that every year brings challenges. “To me, the biggest challenge is to simultaneously please the audience and give the films the timeslot and location they need to work. At the end of the day, if the audience doesn’t like your films, that’s it. My main goal is to have a film for everybody,”
With a 22-film line-up streamlined from last year’s 36, it was tough for Time Out to choose a top five from the anniversary offerings…so we made it ten. Here are our highlights of the 15th Spanish Film Festival, with thoughts from director Ortiz:
1. As Luck Would Have It
Kicking off the Festival is this vicious satire of tabloid media. An unemployed man becomes a news sensation after a freak accident puts his life at risk, live on TV. “Salma Hayek is amazing as the man’s wife. It’s funny, moving, it’s very critical of today’s society…the perfect film to open the festival.”
2. Winning Streak
A sly, slick gambling saga, Winning Streak is based on the true story of the Pelayo family, who rode a roulette-wheel exploit to massive success in casinos around the world. “It’s fast-paced and groovy, with a real Ocean’s Eleven flavour.”
3. Saving Private Perez
When drug lord Julian Perez is asked by his mother to rescue his little brother, an American soldier MIA in Iraq, he forms an elite posse of underworld badasses. “It’s very funny, completely over the top and ridiculous. Don’t expect anything deep and meaningful.”
4. Snowflake, the White Gorilla
Barcelona Zoo’s beloved albino gorilla is back via the power of animation in this live action/animation mash-up that’s all about finding your true colours. “This one’s perfect for little kids and families. It’s nice that they’ve paid this tribute to the real gorilla.”
5. Wrinkles
The popular and poignant Spanish graphic novel about life in a nursing home hits the big screen. Two friends struggle to avoid the dreaded top-floor for ‘lost causes’, even as one of them starts to feel the onset of Alzheimer’s. “It’s very touching, and makes a seamless transition between light and darkness.”
6. Unit 7
A crack team of narcotics officers are on a mission to clean up Seville ahead of the 1992 World Expo – but nothing’s as it seems. This morally ambiguous thriller has already wowed the Tribeca Film Festival. “We’ve featured all of the director’s films in previous festivals. I’m not usually into police films, but this one’s different – really in-your-face.”
7. Madrid, 1987
A respected reporter attempts to seduce a young journalism student, but things go awry when the two become trapped in a bathroom - naked. It’s a confronting, wordy slow burn. “For a premise like this to work you need a very clever script and two very good actors, and the film’s got them.”
8. Chinese Take-Away
A cantankerous Buenos Aires hardware store owner takes in a lost Chinese man who doesn’t speak a word of Spanish. Needless to say, worlds collide. “It’s all about miscommunication and challenging conceptions, but it does so in a very funny way. It’s already set for Australian distribution, and I think it’ll be the highlight of the festival.”
9. No Rest for the Wicked
This gritty thriller about a disgraced police officer on a personal crusade against corrupt cops, drug trafficking and terrorism swept the Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscars). “All I can say is, it is a must. It won best film, best actor, best script, best everything at the Goyas this year. Don’t miss it.”
10. Sleep Tight
A disturbing psychological thriller about a deranged building concierge terrorising his residents? It’s safe to say the title of the closing night film is ironic. “This one hooked me from the first moment. It’s not the standard ‘boo!’ style of scary movie, and Luis Tosar is brilliant as the concierge. Everyone’s going to talk about this one.”
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