iVIVA! FILM FESTIVAL ON TOUR
FRI 26 - MON 29 MAY
Tickets £9.50 / £6.50 concessions/Members
Welcome to the 12th ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film Festival and
another year of super cinema 'que habla en español'. This year's
selection reflects the growing co-operation and increasing number of
co-productions between Spain and Latin America, with a two-way exchange
of talent both in front of and behind the camera. A recurring theme
apparent in films from both continents is the necessity of recalling and
recuperating lost memories.
FRI 26 MAY 6.30PM
NO SOS VOS, SOY YO (IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME) (15)
Director: Juan Taratuo. Argentina/Spain 2004. 105mins.
The biggest-selling local film in Argentina in 2004 and a huge hit in
Spain, No Sos Vos is a Woody Allen-esque comedy. Thirty-something Javier
and his new bride Maria decide to leave Argentina for a better life in
the U.S. She goes ahead whilst he wraps things up at home. On the brink
of their reunion, Javier receives a call from Maria: she's dumped him.
Homeless, unemployed and depressed, Javier moves in with his parents. In
an attempt to get his life back on track, he sees a shrink, buys a puppy,
and meets new people. Just when he thinks he's OK, he receives another
shock.
SAT 27 MAY 4.30PM
DOBLE JUEGO (CON GAME) (18)
Director: Alberto 'Chicho' Durant. Peru 2004. 90mins. Beta SP.
Like Nueve Reinas, Doble Juego is a Latin American con-man movie (in
this case, Peruvian) which slyly comments on local sociopolitical events
via an engaging cinematic genre. Lima, 2000. As President Fujimori's
government collapses and reports of corruption and bribery fill the
airwaves, ordinary Peruvians are enchanted by an expert Spanish swindler
claiming to be a Telefonica executive. Convinced he'll make their dreams
come true, they unwittingly aid him in a clever con.
SUN 28 MAY 12.15PM
THE DEVIL'S MINER (12)
Director: Richard Ladkani & Kief Davidson. Germany/USA 2005. 82mins.
DVD.
Welcome to hell: the mines of Cerro Rico, Bolivia, known to the local
tribes as 'the mountains that eat men.' Here, death can be sudden and
unexpected, and Satan is worshipped as a god, capable of protecting his
followers from misfortune. In this inferno we follow 14-year-old Basilio
Vargas, a child labourer who began working as a fatherless 12-year-old
in the pits that are said to have claimed eight million lives since the
Spanish conquistadors first began extracting silver. Today, the average
life expectancy for miners is between 35 and 40, and some 800 children
toil in the sweltering darkness.
This film is presented in association with DocSpace and CinemaNet
Europe.
2PM
ILUMINADOS POR EL FUEGO (BLESSED BY FIRE) (15)
Director: Tristán Bauer. Argentina/Spain/France 2005. 100 mins.
The first Argentinean fiction feature to deal directly with the legacy
of the Malvinas (Falklands) War, Iluminados reveals the great scars -
physical, psychological and political - left by the conflict. Esteban
has been called to the hospital bedside of a friend who has tried to
commit suicide. A friend with whom he had shared the mud, cold, hunger
and officers' abuse during their time as inexperienced and untrained
soldiers on the islands. The War was fought to bolster the Junta's
standing, but the soldiers had no idea why they were there. And the cost
in human lives continues as hundreds of veterans have subsequently
attempted suicide. Winner of the 2006 Goya for Best Foreign Film.
MON 29 MAY 6.30PM
MORIR EN SAN HILARIO (TO DIE IN SAN HILARIO) (12)
Director: Laura Mañá. Spain 2005. 95mins.
The actress-turned-writer/director of Sexo Por Compasión again visits a
small isolated community with an unusual speciality in this magic-realist
comedy. The village of San Hilario was renowned for its cemetery and the
magnificent funerals it organised. People travelled for miles to die
there. But the public's taste for modern funerals has left the village
decimated. And so the villagers eagerly await the arrival of Germán
Cortes, their first customer in years. But when a different Germán
(Homar) arrives, he decides to assume the other man's identity. And so
the plans for the big event get under way...
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