The iconic PELÍCULA>Pelikula Spanish Film Festival is rolling out its red carpet once again from October 5 to 15, 2023. A curated selection of twenty-three cinematic masterpieces will grace the screens at Shangri-La Plaza’s Red Carpet Theatre in Mandaluyong, while an additional seven films will be accessible online, extending its reach to audiences in Australia and Singapore.
An Annual Affair of Artistic Flair
Since its inception in 2002, orchestrated by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, the festival has been a beacon of Spanish and Ibero-American cinematic artistry. Similar to previous editions, this year’s film program has been carefully curated and selected from a range of genres which includes drama, comedy, horror, thriller, family, musicals and animation that will satisfy the cinematic interests of the Festival’s avid and diverse viewers and followers.
Special Sections
Headlining this year’s program is the Pelicula en Verde, an initiative in which for each spectator of any of the films marked as such, a tree will be planted. These films are Alcarràs (Carla Simón, 2023), As bestas (Rodrigo Sorogoyen, 2022), El Olivo ( Icíar Bollaín, 2016), Fonos ( Gabriela Badillo Sánchez 2021) and Tierra (Julio Medem,1996), whose themes are mainly about nature and environmental issues. This initiative is conducted in partnership with Haribon Foundation and is sponsored by Acciona, one of the top Spanish infrastructure companies whose headquarters for Asia are in Manila.
This year’s program will also include a tribute to Carlos Saura, acclaimed Spanish filmmaker who died early this year at the age of 91. A special section will be dedicated to him, which will include his films Embrujo, Goya en Burdeos and El Rey de todo el mundo.
The festival will also include films from Ibero-American countries including Chile, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico, and will feature a co-production from Spain and Mexico.
Audience Choice Awards
Just like in the previous years, viewers may vote for their favorite films for the Audience Choice Awards. The winning film will again be screened on the last day of the Festival on October 15.
PELíCULA 2023 is a project of Instituto Cervantes and Shangri-La Plaza, in collaboration with the Embassies of Spain in the Philippines, Australia, and Singapore, the AECID, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Filmoteca Española, the Embassy of Colombia and the Embassy of Mexico, with the participation of the Embassy of Chile, the Embassy of Argentina, and Haribon Foundation, and sponsored by Vibal Foundation, Acciona, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Arthaland, SSI Group, Inc., Barcino, La Latina and Fundador.
All the screenings are FREE entrance on a first come, first served basis. All the movies are in Spanish (or their original language) with English subtitles. For updates on the Festival, please visit the website of the Festival (https://pelikula.org) or the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes de Manila: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila and https://www.instagram.com/institutocervantesmanila/
