Experimental films by Spanish emerging directors online at the Cervantes Institute

As of this autumn, the Cervantes Institute resumes the series of monthly screenings of films broadcast freely on the Vimeo platform, and the first project in this series is the online film suite “Abycine Lanza” – a laboratory of emerging Spanish talents, broadcast thanks to a unique collaboration with Abycine, one of the boldest film festivals in the contemporary Spanish landscape. The films will be available on the Vimeo channel of the Instituto Cervantes for 48 hours, starting at 21:00 (Romanian time), starting from the indicated day (Fridays of each week).

For many years, the Abycine International Film Festival in Albacete has favored the presentation of feature films and short films that have penetrated the Spanish scene thanks to directors willing to break the conventional rules. One of the most attractive sections of this festival is the Lanza project, which brings together the best projects in the post-production phase and creates a space for obtaining funds and maintaining the independent film community.

As part of this spirit of giving visibility to up-and-coming filmmakers, brave young talents who will no doubt be talked about a lot in the coming years, the Cervantes Institute invites moviegoers to see three feature films and two shorts.

Programme

Friday, September 2, 9 p.m

Sediments – directed by Adrián Silvestre (2021, 90 minutes)

Adrián Silvestre’s films challenge us to look at the people, situations and environments presented as complex and suggestive spaces in the midst of which we are prompted to rethink reality. The visual richness of his films acquires a new dimension in Sediments, a film in which the boundaries between documentary and fiction make us think of those cinematic characters who consciously go beyond the boundaries of the story.

Friday, September 9, 9 p.m

Yalla – directed by Carlo D’Ursoi (2021, short film)

The career of actor, director and producer Carlo D’Ursi is an exemplary form of commitment to those histories that force us to look exactly where we don’t want to look, at those subjects outside of our everyday lives. Black Diamonds (2013, directed by Miguel Alcantud) or Doctor (2017) deal with the lives of people living in different parts of the world who suffer from war or from addiction or vulnerability caused by poverty. Based on a true story and accompanied by fascinating visuals, Yalla describes how life can be shattered into a thousand pieces by a simple technical mistake.

Friday, September 16, 9 p.m

The man who designed Spain – Miguel Larraya

Valenzuela and Andrea Gutiérrez Bermejo (2020, 81 minutes)Rarely is the work of a visual artist—designer, image maker—so important that it becomes a reflection on how a country defines its own democratization process. The case of José María Cruz Novillo reflects that phenomenon in which the imaginary of the Spanish transition is inextricably linked to his ability to express it through public communication and marketing, pioneering spaces in his moment of maximum professional success. Trained in design during the Franco regime and a pioneer of New York communication theory, the work of this great plastic artist managed to define the social space through his works, but also to elaborate different conceptual art devices that place him on the same level as the best representative artists of this current from the last years of the 20th century.

Friday, September 23, 9 p.m

One – directed by Javier Marco (2018, short film, 10 minutes)

The creative duo of director Javier Marco and screenwriter Belén Sánchez-Arévalo already have an impressive track record, culminating in a Goya Award for Best Short for A la cara (In Front) in 2020, and their feature debut with Josefina, in 2021. His ability to combine the most personal stories with a reflection on the most disadvantaged in society is also present in Unu, a short film set in the terrible and deadly story of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Friday, September 30, 9 p.m

Last days of Spring – directed by Isabel Lamberti (2020, feature film, 77 minutes)

Dutch director Isabel Lamberti has always dreamed of visiting Spain, ever since she was a child listening to her grandmother talk about her native country. The story of a family living in a slum in Madrid is the way in which this director included various stories about special children, small protagonists of a history of resistance and solidarity.