Spanish Film Festival in Sydney, Australia

The Spanish Film Festival in Sydney runs from the 19th of June until the 3rd of July and has a range of different Spanish movies from Spain and South America.

I love watching movies in french and spanish so I was really pleased the Spanish film festival was coming to Sydney.  It is in its 16th year and is taking place at the Palace Cinemas.  Since  the festival started, it has grown and expanded into new locations, including Canberra and Byron Bay.

During the two week period the festival is on at Palace Verona, there are three special screenings, one on the opening night for the film “A Gun in Each Hand”, on the closing night on the 3rd of July “Tristana” and on Thursday the 27th of June for a film called “The Summer Side”. While the film festival was on, I went to see three great films and I recommend you see them as well.

I Want You – (in Spanish this is Tengo Ganas de Ti) was the first film I saw at the festival. it stars Mario Casas and Clara Lago in this modern day love story.  It is set in Barcelona and is about Hache (played by Mario) who returns back to Spain after living in London for two years.  He had moved to London following the tragic death of his friend and the move meant he broke up with his girlfriend Babi.  Mario is finding it difficult to get over Babi when he is back in Barcelona, which could ruin his relationship with his new girlfriend Gin (Claro Lago).

The second movie “Bypass” was actually in Catalan, not in Spanish I had hoped.  I was really glad of the subtitles as I could not understand any Catalan.  Despite, the initial surprise of the film not being in Spanish, the movie was very funny.  It is set in Bilboa and is about Xabi (Gorka Oxtoa) who has his life turned upside down when he finds out his friend Maria (Sara Cozar) is suffering from a terminal heart condition and has only a few days to live. His friends tell  him Maria has always loved Xabi and out of compassion, Xabi lies to Maria and says he is aswell.  This leads to a Maria’s heart making a small recovery and Xabi then moving in with Maria for her final few months, at the same time juggling work and his pregnant girlfriend.

The last film I saw was “Don’t Fall in Love With Me” (No Te Enamores De Mi), set in Buenos Aires and about three different intersecting love stories. It was a great movie and interesting to see how stories developed and the impact on the characters.  Sofia is one of the main characters and is torn between her boyfriend and boyfriend’s brother Martin. Meanwhile Sergio and Alejendra are having an extra marital affair unbeknownst to Sergio’s wife Paula.  Paula has her first patient as a psychology student and while working with her discovers many things about herself and marriage she was not aware of before.

I bought a Palace Verona cinema card which entitles me and one friend to buy any cinema ticket for $14.50 instead of $19.50.  It costs just $19 for a one year membership and I have already used it about 5 times in 3 months.  I am still waiting for my birthday gift of a free cinema ticket, but will ask about it next time I go. The card also gets me discounts for special events and festivals, but the Spanish film festival didn’t seem to have any additional discounts.

When I went to Melbourne I also used my Palace Verona card in the cinema there and saw a great French film called “Happiness Never Comes  Alone”.  I will be looking for more French and Spanish movies during my time in Sydney.  There is not as wide a selection as I would have hoped, but I am always on the look out for new movies, so let me know if you find some French and Spanish films showing in Sydney.