Viva Spanish & Latin American Film Festival revamped

With a 20-year record of audience and critical acclaim, Viva, Manchester’s annual, internationally celebrated Spanish & Latin American Film Festival, returns to Cornerhouse and HOME in three parts, with a carefully honed and lovingly curated programme presenting the best in new Hispanic cinema.

Divided into three long weekends in 2015, Viva, one of Cornerhouse’s most popular events, will present an eclectic film selection with award winners and UK prèmieres, established filmmakers and new talent, features and documentaries, and inspirational figures from the Spanish and Latin American film industries leading talks, Q&As and workshops.

2015 introduces an exciting revamp of ¡Viva!, with three separate festival parts showcasing features from a diverse range of genres including comedy, LGBTQI, action, documentary and historical drama. Part one (5 – 9 March 2015) will take place at Cornerhouse from 5 – 9 March, with a mixture of Spanish and Latin American film and a special tribute to commemorate International Women’s Day on 8 March (Os Fenómenos (Aces)).

Produced by Film Programme Manager Rachel Hayward and Festival Coordinator Jessie Gibbs, the festival will kick off with Santi Amodeo’s Quien mató a Bambi' (Who Killed Bambi') (2013), a farcical black comedy following a group of ordinary people dealing with extraordinary situations. Amodeo, a director, screenwriter and musician from Seville, will introduce the film ahead of taking part in a post-screening Q&A.

This year’s Viva will include Alfonso Zarazua’s Os Fenómenos (Aces) (2014), which tackles the themes of economic crisis and the decimation of the Spanish building industry from the perspective of a single mother; María Victoria Menis’ María y el Arana (Maria and Spider) (2013), an award-winning film presenting the tragic tale of two Argentine teenagers who fall between the cracks in a grossly unfair world; Diego Araujo’s Feriado (Holiday) (2014), his debut feature exploring race, class and sexuality with sensitivity and intelligence through the eyes of 16-year-old Juan Pablo; and Roberto Flores Prieto’s Ruido Rosa (Pink Noise) (2014), his second feature film that takes audiences back to the Caribbean coast of Colombia, this time during the Barranquilla rainy season. The festival is delighted to announce that both Alfonso Zarazua and Roberto Flores will also visit Manchester for post-screening Q&A events.

Rachel Hayward commented: “We are extremely pleased to be presenting Viva across three long weekends, each with its own special focus for 2015. It's been an exciting process to select the final line-up for March and this will be an important year for the festival as we celebrate our successes at Cornerhouse and welcome the future of the festival at HOME.”

2015 SPANISH & LATIN AMERICAN FILM PROGRAMME – PART ONE

Quién mató a Bambi' (Who Killed Bambi')
Dir Santi Amodeo/ES 2013/96 mins/Spanish wEng ST/Cert TBA
Quim Gutiérrez, Julián Villagrán, Belén Ponce de León, Ernesto Alterio, Enrico Vecchi, Clara Lago Seven years after we showed Amodeo’s last feature film, the excellent Cabeza de perro, we bring you this raucous black comedy about ordinary guys plunged into extraordinary situations as they struggle to survive the economic crisis in whatever way they can. An assortment of endearingly shallow, flippant, foolish, corrupt and downright psychotic characters scramble through a series of hilarious plot twists as they try to grab a piece of the action enjoyed by the ostentatious elite.
Event: We are pleased to welcome Santi Amodeo to present his film at the opening gala, and for a Q&A following the screening on Sat 7 Mar.

María y el Araña (María and Spider)
Dir María Victoria Menis/AR FR EC 2013/90 mins/Spanish wEng ST/Cert 12A
Florencia Salas, Diego Vegezzi, Mirella Pascual, Luciano Suardi, Lucía Ruiz Ortiz, Pablo Aguirre Andrade
Menis’ award-winning third film is the meticulously crafted, tragic tale of two Argentine teenagers falling between the cracks in a grossly unfair world. While peddling cheap products on the underground, the studious 13-year-old María is drawn out of her shell by the attentions of a young juggler dressed in a Spiderman costume. But as masks slip, an increasingly oppressive atmosphere suggests a dark secret threatening to overshadow young love.
Event: On Mon 9 Mar, Dr James Scorer, from the University of Manchester, will present a One Hour Intro to Latin American cities in cinema, with a special focus on our featured Argentian film María y el Araña.

Os Fenómenos (Aces)
Dir Alfonso Zarauza/ES 2014/110 mins/Spanish wEng ST/Cert TBA
Lola Dueñas, Luis Tosar, Juan Carlos Vellido, Ledicia Sola, Antonio Duran
Zarauza has a wonderfully understated storytelling style, tackling the topical themes of economic crisis and the decimation of the Spanish building industry from an unusual perspective: that of Neneta, a single mother attempting to hold her own as a construction worker. When she is abandoned by Wolf, the father of her child, she reluctantly returns to her hometown on the coast of Galicia. But as Neneta gently rebuilds broken relationships and fights to win the respect of her new colleagues, the shadow of the impending financial crash looms ever larger...
Event: We are pleased to welcome Alfonso Zarauza for a Q&A following the screening on Fri 6 Mar.

Feriado (Holiday)
Dir Diego Araujo/EC 2014/82 mins/Spanish wEng ST/Cert TBA
Juan Manuel Arregui, Andrés Paredes, Manuela Merchán, Canela Samaniego, Irwin Ortiz
This debut feature from Ecuadorian filmmaker Araujo explores race, class and sexuality with sensitivity and intelligence, through the eyes of privileged 16-year-old Juan Pablo. Confronted with prejudice and injustice at his family’s Andean hacienda during the carnival holiday of 1999, days before the collapse of Ecuador’s banking system, he meets Juano, a self-assured, black-metal fan from the nearby pueblo, who opens his eyes to a new, liberating universe. As his country and family heads for the abyss, their budding friendship tentatively moves towards a gentle romance, and Juan Pablo gradually constructs his sense of identity against his chaotic surroundings.

Ruido Rosa (Pink Noise)
Dir Roberto Flores Prieto/CO 2014/110 mins/Spanish wEng ST/Cert TBA
Roosevel Gonzalez, Mabel Pizarro
Flores Prieto’s second feature film takes us back to the Caribbean coast of Colombia, this time during the Barranquilla rainy season, when a sense of lethargic dilapidation overwhelms this rain-drenched tropical city on the periphery of modernity. Solitary Luis repairs radios and TV sets; defiantly optimistic Carmen works at an old three-star hotel. Slowly, an awkward and touching love story develops between two older people dreaming of more fulfilling lives. Fans of Cazando luciérnagas in ¡Viva! 2014 will recognise Flores Prieto’s signature style in the visual splendour and superb attention to detail of his carefully framed, often static-camera shots, here saturated with lush greens and vibrant reds, combined with a pared-back script and soundtrack.

Event: We are pleased to welcome Roberto Flores for a Q&A following the screening on Sun 8 Mar.
The second part of ¡Viva! will take place from 18 – 21 June with a focus on new Mexican Cinema, promising to celebrate The Year of Mexico in the UK - a 2015 collaboration project between the British and Mexican governments - with a specially curated selection of films and events that bring the flavour of Mexico to Manchester. Further information, as well as details of the final part of the Festival, will be announced later this year.