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Instituto Cervantes’ PELÍCULA-Spanish film festival will go online this year from October 3 to 11.
Instituto Cervantes, a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Spanish government, is presenting the festival in collaboration with the Embassies of Spain in the Philippines, Thailand, and Australia.
In a news release, Instituto Cervantes said the festival will feature eight feature films and four short films that are some of the best of contemporary Spanish cinema.
Each movie will be available for viewing for free at www.pelikula.es for 24 hours, starting at 6:00 p.m. (in the Philippines and Thailand) and 8:00 p.m. (in Australia), on the programmed screening dates.
The first movie to be screened on October 3 will be "La filla d’algú" (2019), a film directed by eleven students from the Escuela Superior de Cine y Audiovisuales de Cataluña.
The other movies included in the festival are "El increíble finde menguante" (Jon Mikel Caballero, 2019); the comedy "Asamblea" (Alex Montoya, 2019), and dramas such as "Jaulas" (Nicolás Pacheco, 2018), and "Arima" (Jaione Camborda, 2019).
Also to be screened are documentaries such as "Mudar la piel" (Ana Schulz and Cristóbal Fernández, 2018), and "El cuadro" (Andrés Sanz, 2019).
PELÍCULA will also feature a Latin American film from Costa Rica: "El despertar de las hormigas" (Antonella Sudassasi, 2019).
Instituto Cervantes de Manila has been holding the Spanish film festival annually in Philippine cinemas since 2002. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, Instituto chose to offer online screenings and webinars this year.
Online discussions
Aside from online screenings, Instituto Cervantes will also feature webinars and online discussions.
Within Cineclub PELíCULA, writer and former TV host Jessica Zafra will moderate online discussions about the films included in the festival, with the participation of the directors of the movies.
The online discussions include:
October 5: “Marketing Asian Cinema in Europe and Spanish Cinema in Asia;”
October 9: “Any Future for Film Festivals?” (to be participated in by the directors of Spanish, Thai and Filipino major film festivals), and
October 10: "En corto: Short Films from the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and Spain" (one short film will be featured from each country).
These may be accessed free of charge through the www.pelikula.es site.
Audience Choice Award
Since 2004, viewers have been voting for what they deem as the best movie in the festival.
This year, online viewers can still vote for the Premio del Público (Audience Choice Award).
Viewers will receive stubs where they can rate the movies they have seen online.
The winning movie will be screened again on October 11 at 6:00 p.m. at www.pelikula.es.
PELÍCULA is presented by Instituto Cervantes through Instituto Cervantes in Manila and Instituto Cervantes in Sydney, the Embassies of Spain in the Philippines, Thailand, and Australia, and AECID, with the collaboration of the ICAA, the Málaga Film Festival, the Thai Film Archive, the Sydney Film Festival, the Travelling Film Festival, Intramuros Administration, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the UP Film Institute.