Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival returns for 2024
By Jamie Dunn
30 September 2024
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival brings some of Spain’s most exciting recent filmmaking to Scotland – we look at this year’s programme
There’s a new Pedro Almodóvar joint being released at the end of October (The Room Next Door, out 25 Oct) but if you’re looking for more films by talented Spanish filmmakers look no further than the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, which returns this month for its 11th edition. The whole reason that the festival exists is that so many great Spanish films —save for the work of that previously-mentioned arthouse darling— don’t make it to UK cinemas. “I think we’re really good at brinigng new directors, and especially women directors to Scotland,” says Marian Aréchaga, Edinburgh Sapnish Film Festival’s curator. “Very few Spanish directors, apart from of course Almodóvar and maybe a few others, find a place in UK cinemas, especially here in Edinburgh now that the Filmhouse has been closed.” It’s a shame this is the case because if ESFF’s rich and varied programme is anything to go by, Spanish cinema looks to be in good health in 2024.
Proceedings kick off with the timely Galician thriller Artificial Justice from Simón Casal. Set in the near future, it concerns the introduction of AI software into the Spanish legal system to replace judges, the thinking being that the cold logic of an algorithm won’t bring human bias into determined guilt. But as anyone who’s used a computer anytime in the last few years will know, Als are far from infallible. Blending dystopian sci-fi with courtroom drama, it should make for an intriguing opener —and something nice and juicy to argue over at the festival’s opening reception.
Casal will be one of the several filmmakers flying into Edinburgh for the festival, but the prolific Edinburgh-based director Icíar Bollaín can probably make the screenings of her latest film, the #MeToo drama I am Nevenka, on a Lothian Bus. The film tells the true story of the ordeal faced by 24-year-old student Nevenka Fernández when she lands a job at the local government offices in Ponferrada only to be relentlessly pursued and harassed by the town’s sleazy mayor, Ismael Álvarez. Coming to ESFF fresh from premiering at San Sebastián Film Festival, expect a searing and deeply humane piece of work from this talented filmmaker.
Another highlight looks to be the sharp class conflict drama The Quite Maid, which explores the tension between Colombian maid Ana and her rich art collector employer, whose sleek Costa Brava pad she cleans; this debut from Miguel Faus comes with Steven Soderbergh’s seal of approval. We’ve also heard great things about Little Loves, Celia Rico Clavellino’s intimate drama tracking a troubled mother-daughter relationship.
It’s not just movies on the menu. Your mouth can take a delightful trip to Andalusia’s wine region with a wine-tasting evening centered on a selection of bottles from Bodegas Alvear, one of the oldest wineries in Spain. Acclaimed Spanish novelist María Dueñas will visit the festival to deliver a masterclass on the art of writing. And there’s also the opportunity to get creative with a movie poster-making session with the Scottish refugee charity The Welcoming.
There’s much more to fin in this year’s ESFF programme. Dive in!
Available at: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/film-events/edinburgh-spanish-film-festival-2024-preview
