Friday, December 7, 2012

Spanish Cinema Now, 2012 edition, arrives today at NYC's FSLC & Instituto Cervantes

The Film Society of Lincoln Center's 21st edition of SPANISH CINEMA NOW, from today,  December 7 through the 16, is here. Opening night kicks off with Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves, Spain’s official entry for the 2013 Oscars and closing night wraps with Álvaro Longoria’s documentary Sons of the Clouds, featuring Javier Bardem. In between are 18 new films from Spain in just about every genre you can muster up. Also on the program is a salute to the surrealist master Luis Buñuel, which will split its time between the Film Society and Instituto Cervantes.

TrustMovies has so far seen only three of the films, each one of which plays today: Blancanieves, (above), a new silent-film version of the Snow White story, Spanish style; Chrysalis, (shown at top) which details the situation of three Spanish women in differing time periods; and A Cold Call (A puerta fría) a short, honest narrative film starring terrific Spanish actor Antonio Dechent (below) that offers a sad/angry obituary for today's Capitalism and those who toil therein. If the rest of the films are anywhere near the level of these three, we're in for another grand series.

While most of the attractions will play at Lincoln Center, Instituto Cervantes New York will also be hosting lectures and special screenings to celebrate Buñuel from  December 11 through 14. In addition, this year’s diverse selection of Spanish shorts, ShortMetraje (below, presented by Pragda), is celebrating its 10th anniversary and includes a wide array of unique short films from emerging Spanish filmmakers.

Below is a brief description of each film (or program), courtesy of the FSLC's publicity department -- so you can quickly get a sense of what each offers -- followed by the complete public-screening schedule.

Discount single screening tickets are available for students, seniors, Film Society and Cervantes Institute members. Everyone can enjoy a Special Three-Film Discount Package! More ticket information information, as well as info on each individual film, is available here. Screenings will be held at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater (located at 165 West 65th Street, between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway), unless otherwise noted.

2012 Spanish Cinema Now -- 
films and descriptions

Animals (2011) 100m Director: Marçal Forés
Pol is a seemingly normal teenager with a family, homework, and a stuffed bear who speaks English named Deerhoof; all is well until he starts to get drawn into the dark world of a new classmate. Sunday, December 9 at 8:45pm

Blancanieves (2012) 104m Director: Pablo Berger
An extraordinary re-reading of the classic Grimm Brothers tale as a lush silent melodrama, complete with a wicked stepmother and a traveling troupe of bullfighting dwarves. Friday, December 7 at 6:30pm Director Pablo Berger in person!

The Body (El cuerpo, shown above) (2012) 95m Director: Oriol Paulo
When the body of a murdered woman disappears from the morgue, an unlikely partnership develops between a police inspector and the victim’s husband. Saturday, December 8 at 7:30pm,  Friday, December 14 at 4:00pm

Carmina or Blow Up (Carmina o revienta) (2012) 70m Director: Paco León
Partly a hilarious picaresque comedy, partly a love letter to his mother, Paco León’s impressive debut establishes its young director as a real talent to watch. Sunday, December 16 at 4:00pm

Chrysalis (De tu ventana a la mía) (2011) 95m Director: Paula Ortiz
The wonderful Maribel Verdu co-stars in this chronicle of three generations of women each trying to control their own destinies against the background of a rapidly changing Spain. Friday, December 7 at 2:00pm;  Sunday, December 9 at 4:00pm Director Paula Ortiz in person at Sunday, December 9 screening!

The Cold Call (A puerta fría) (2012) 80m Director: Xavi Puebla
Forced to get a new contract signed or else lose his job, a businessman prepares for a meeting at a trade fair with a big American magnate (Nick Nolte). Friday, December 7 at 4:15pm; Sunday, December 16 at 5:45pm

Dream and Silence (Sueño y silencio, above) (2012) 120m Director: Jaime Rosales
One of Spain’s most provocative filmmakers, Rosales (La soledad, Bullet in the Head) offers an unsettling tale of a man who, following her death in a car accident while he was driving, forgets he ever had a daughter. Thursday, December 13 at 8:30pm

The End (Fin) (2012) 90m Director: Jorge Torregrosso
An already tension-filled reunion among old friends turns terrifying when it seems as if some inexplicable, apocalyptic catastrophe has taken over the planet. Saturday, December 8 at 5:30pm;  Wednesday, December 12 at 1:00pm Director Jorge Torregrosso in person at Saturday, December 8 screening!

Frozen Silence (Silencio en la nieve, below) (2012) 114m Director: Gerardo Herrero
A group of Spaniards in the notorious "Blue Division"--both volunteers and conscripts sent by Franco to fight alongside the Germans on the Russian front--fear they have a serial killer in their midst. Friday, December 7 at 9:00pm

Ghost Graduation (Promoción Fantasma) (2012) 97m Director: Javier Ruiz Caldera
Teacher and psychic Modesto (Raul Arevalo) gets a new assignment: to help a group of teenage ghosts graduate from the high school they’ve been haunting. Friday, December 14 at 8:15pm

Iceberg (2012) 90m Director: Gabriel Velázquez
Beautifully shot in Salamanca, this deceptively tranquil look at three teenagers who try to drop out from the world masks the enormous tensions and contradictory emotions lurking just below the surface. Tuesday, December 11 at 8:15pm

Orange Honey (Miel de naranjas) (2012) 101m Director: Imanol Uribe
Stationed in his girlfriend’s hometown, a young solider in ‘50s Spain discovers the brutal truth of the Franco regime. Wednesday, December 12 at 3:00pm;  Saturday, December 15 at 7:30pm

Painless (Insensibles, above) (2012) 100m Director: Juan Carlos Medina
A taut, provocative thriller that spirals between the Thirties and the present as it recounts the terrible story of a Civil-War era clinic and its experiments with children naturally immune to pain. Friday, December 15 at 2:00pm; Saturday, December 15 at 9:45pm

The Sleeping Voice (La voz dormida) (2011) 128m Director: Benito Zembrano
Dulce Chacon’s bestselling novel about female prisoners in the early years of the Franco regime is brilliantly adapted to the screen Sunday, December 9 at 6:15pm; Thursday, December 13 at 3:45pm Director Benito Zembrano in person at Sunday, December 9 screening!

Sons of the Clouds (Hijos de las nubes, la última colonia) (2012) 110m Director: Alvaro Longoria
Academy Award-winning actor Javier Bardem takes us on a journey to the Western Sahara, where the Sahawai people wait for permission to return to their ancestral lands. Sunday, December 16 at 8:00pm

Wilaya (2012) 97m (above), Director: Pedro Pérez Rosado
After living for years in Spain, a young woman is forced to rejoin her family in a massive refugee camp in the Western Sahara. Thursday, December 13 at 1:30pm;  Sunday, December 16 at 12:00pm

Winning Streak (Los Pelayos) (2012) 101m Director: Eduard Cortés
In this fast-paced comedy, casino gambler Gonzalo finally figures out a way to beat the odds, drafting his somewhat reluctant family into a scheme to make a killing at the roulette table. Saturday, December 8 at 9:45pm Director Eduard Cortés in person!

Wrinkles (Arrugas) (2011, below) 89m Director: Ignacio Ferrera
A beautifully animated tale of resistance, friendship and life set among the inhabitants of an elderly care facility. Sunday, December 16 at 2:00pm

New Spanish Shorts (ShortMetraje) 96m (various directors)
ShortMetraje comes back full force, this time celebrating its 10-year anniversary. This edition's fantastic line-up includes a wide array of formats, genres, and styles by a group of emerging filmmakers whose talents will shape the future of Spanish cinema. Be the first to discover tomorrow's most acclaimed filmmakers! This program is presented by Pragda (www.pragda.com). New Spanish Shorts Screens on Sunday, December 9 at 2:00pm



Speaking of Buñuel (A PROPÓSITO DE Buñuel) Director: Javier Rioyo (In Spanish with English subtitles) The most complete documentary ever made about the life and work of Luis Buñuel. With the participation of Michelle Piccoli, Jean Rochefort, Ángela Molina, Jean-Claude Carrière, Carlos Fuentes & Paco Rabal, among others. Tuesday, December 11 at 6:00pm Lecture &

Las Hurdes is a documentary by Buñuel that completely changed the genre. Javier Herrera, one of the top experts in Buñuel´s first films, will talk about the true story of the genesis, the release and the problems that arose during the creation of this masterpiece. In Spanish with simultaneous translation. The screening will include rare home films of Buñuel´s family. Wednesday, December 12 at 6:00pm

Film: THE YOUNG ONE Director: Luis Buñuel A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions. (In English with Spanish subtitles) Thursday, December 13 at 6:00 pm

Film: ROBINSON CRUSOE Director: Luis Buñuel On 30 September 1659, the aristocratic British Robinson Crusoe's ship sinks and he miraculously survives on a deserted island somewhere in South America. (In Spanish with English subtitles) Friday, December 14 at 6:00 pm

Public Screening Schedule 
for Spanish Cinema Now 
Walter Reade Theater 165 West 65 Street, between B'way & Amsterdam (upper level)

Friday, December 7
2:00PM CHRYSALIS (95min)
4:15PM THE COLD CALL (80min)
6:30PM BLANCANIEVES (104min) (Q&A with director Pablo Berger)
9:00PM FROZEN SILENCE (114min)

Saturday, December 8
5:30PM THE END (90min) (Q&A with director Jorge Torregrosso)
7:30PM THE BODY (95min)
9:45PM WINNING STREAK (101min) (Q&A with director Eduard Cortés)

Sunday, December 9
12:00PM LAND WITHOUT BREAD (39min) with ESPANA 1936 (35min) (Q&A with Director of the Filmoteca Nacional of Spain, Jose Maria Prado)
2:00PM NEW SPANISH SHORTS (ShortMetraje) (96min)
4:00PM CHRYSALIS (95min) (Q&A with director Paula Ortiz)
6:15PM THE SLEEPING VOICE (128min) (Q&A with director Benito Zembrano)
8:45PM ANIMALS (100min)

Monday, December 10
NO SCREENINGS

Tuesday, December 11
6:15PM THE DAUGHTER OF JUAN SIMON (69min)
8:15PM ICEBERG (90min)

Wednesday, December 12
1:00PM THE END (90min; a still is shown above)
3:00PM ORANGE HONEY (101min)

Thursday, December 13
1:30PM WILAYA (97min)
3:45PM THE SLEEPING VOICE (128min)
6:00PM DON QUINTIN THE BITTER (87min)
8:30PM DREAM AND SILENCE (120min)

Friday, December 14
2:00PM PAINLESS (100min)
4:00PM THE BODY (95min)
6:15PM VIRIDIANA (90min)
8:15PM GHOST GRADUATION (97min)

Saturday, December 15
5:30PM TRISTANA (95min)
7:30PM ORANGE HONEY (101min)
9:45PM PAINLESS (100min)

Sunday, December 16
12:00PM WILAYA (97min)
2:00PM WRINKLES (89min)
4:00PM CARMINA OR BLOW UP (70min)
5:45PM THE COLD CALL (80min)
8:00PM SONS OF THE CLOUDS (110min)

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