Película>Pelikula marks its 25th anniversary with a more festive rendition

Behind the scenes, the selection of the 23 featured films is a meticulous, collaborative process. “The selection process is a conversation,” shared José María Fons Guardiola, cultural head of Instituto Cervantes de Manila. “We talk internally and discuss our options. We also talk to the Latin American embassies based here and rely on their choices, normally asking for movies that have been in festivals or received awards.”

The organisers noted that Filipino audiences have a strong affinity for specific genres. López observed that there is a special taste for comedies, while Fons pointed out that melodramas also work very well here, recalling how past screenings of such films left the entire cinema in tears. To match these tastes while pushing thematic boundaries, Película balances veteran directors with emerging voices. “For us it is a pleasure because we like to discover new talents right,” López shared, referencing the rise of Filipino filmmaker Arvin Belarmino. “It is really nice to have had that. Someone who started with us, so to speak, and because of his talent, he has now been selected in prestigious festivals and incredible.”

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The festival experience extends far beyond the cinema screen. A key objective of Película is to foster an ongoing dialogue between cultures. “Cinema, obviously, is a personal pleasure... but also has a social component. It's not the same as watching a movie at home on your own than watching it with other people and sharing their reactions, right?” explained Fons Guardiola.

In addition to film viewings, the programme offers a diverse array of supplementary events. The festivities will officially launch on October 2 at the Ayala Museum with Musika ng Pelikula, a concert by Merienda Jazz featuring memorable soundtracks from Spanish cinema. Film historian Nick Deocampo will deliver a lecture exploring Spanish influences on Philippine cinema on October 6 at Power Plant Cinema 2, while Mexican artist Juan Pablo Chipe will host free film-inspired clay and collage art workshops.

As Película looks ahead, the organisers credit its longevity to a passionate team and an audience that continuously returns year after year. When asked to summarise their formula for lasting a quarter of a century and maintaining the longest-running foreign film festival in the country, López replied: “I would say that it’s freshness, youthfulness and diversity, and this connection between Spain and the Philippines.” To which Fons added: “I would add resilience.” 

Audiences can look forward to a diverse roster of 23 films, all presented in their original languages with English subtitles. True to tradition, viewers will also have the chance to vote for their favourite entry to receive the Audience Choice Award, which will be screened again during the closing ceremony. The official lineup includes:

This energetic 2024 Argentine animated feature directed by Gonzalo Gutiérrez follows 11-year-old Alfonso, a young boy who discovers he is the rightful heir of Don Quixote. Joined by his three imaginary, music-loving rabbits along with his real-life friends Pancho and Victoria, Alfonso embarks on a whimsical quest to save his beloved hometown of La Mancha from a massive, impending storm.

Directed by Irene Iborra Rizo and based on Maite Carranza’s acclaimed novel La pel·lícula de la vida, this international stop-motion co-production between Spain, France, Belgium, Chile and Switzerland is set in Barcelona. It centres on 12-year-old Olívia, her mother Ingrid and her little brother Tim as they navigate the emotional upheaval and sudden displacement that follows their family’s eviction.

In this clever 2025 Argentine comedy directed by Gabriel Nesci, Denise, a professional sommelier, makes a startling discovery: she can alter her present reality simply by placing a written message inside an empty wine bottle labelled with a specific past year. As she repeatedly attempts to rewrite her history and fix old mistakes, Denise finds herself caught in a chaotic series of time-travelling misadventures.

A 2024 animated documentary feature directed by David Baute that offers a timely examination of global climate displacement. The narrative follows Tanit, Valeria and Shaila, three women hailing from vastly different corners of the globe who share a harrowing reality: global warming forces them to lose their homes, livelihoods and roots, driving them to migrate in search of survival.

Based on the play by José Luis Alonso de Santos and co-written by Joaquín Oristrell and Yolanda García Serrano, this sharp historical comedy directed by Manuel Gómez in 2025 is set in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. The plot follows a young lieutenant, played by Mario Casas, and a meticulous maître d’hôtel, portrayed by Alberto San Juan, as they attempt to organise an elaborate banquet at Madrid’s Hotel Palace for a group of victorious Francoist generals. The film won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Costume Design at the 40th Goya Awards.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Alejandro Amenábar, this 2025 Spanish-Italian adventure drama stars Julio Peña as a young Miguel de Cervantes. The film chronicles Cervantes’ five-year captivity in Algiers and explores the complex relationship he develops with his captor, Hasán Bajá, played by Alessandro Borghi. The production received the Goya Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyles at the 40th Goya Awards.

Marking Pedro Almodóvar’s English-language feature debut, this 2024 drama stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore alongside John Turturro and Alessandro Nivola. Adapted from Sigrid Nunez’s 2020 novel What Are You Going Through, the story traces the bond between two lifelong friends as one chooses to take control of her destiny in the face of a terminal illness. The film made history by winning the prestigious Golden Lion at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and earned three Goya Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.

A poignant character study starring José Ramón Soroiz alongside Nagore Aranburu. The 2025 drama directed by Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi follows an elderly gay man who feels compelled to retreat back into the closet due to societal pressures and systemic intolerance against older LGBTQ+ individuals. Soroiz’s performance earned him the Goya Award for Best Actor at the 40th Goya Awards.

Co-written by Óliver Laxe and Santiago Fillol, this desert road movie from 2025 stars Sergi López as a father searching for his missing daughter across the desolate terrain of southern Morocco, accompanied by his son and a group of ravers. The film won the Jury Prize at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, captured six Goya Awards (including Best Cinematography, Editing and Original Score) and received Academy Award nominations for Best International Feature Film and Best Sound.

Directed by Alberto Rodríguez and co-written with Rafael Cobos, this suspenseful 2025 Spanish thriller stars Antonio de la Torre and Bárbara Lennie. The film premiered at the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival and went on to win the Goya Award for Best Special Effects at the 40th Goya Awards.

Written and directed by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, this 2025 Spanish comedy-drama features an ensemble cast that includes Javier Gutiérrez, María Vázquez, Judith Fernández and Tamar Novas. The story revolves around community ties and musical traditions, having premiered in competition at the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival.

A landmark in Spanish non-fiction cinema, this cult documentary from 1976 delves into the psychological undercurrents of the family of official Francoist poet Leopoldo Panero. Filmed twelve years after Panero’s death, the documentary relies on candid interviews with his widow, Felicidad Blanc, and their three sons—Juan Luis, Leopoldo María, and Michi. Released during Spain’s transition to democracy, it remains a critique of the traditional patriarchal family structure.

Written and directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, this 2025 Basque drama stars newcomer Blanca Soroa alongside Patricia López Arnaiz, Miguel Garcés and Nagore Aranburu. The narrative centres on a teenage girl considering entering a cloistered convent, triggering deep moral and personal fractures between her distant father and her protective aunt. The film won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival as well as five major Goya Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

A coming-of-age 2022 drama co-produced by Costa Rica, Belgium and France, starring Daniela Marín Navarro as 16-year-old Eva. Living with her mother and younger sister, Eva navigates the volatile boundary between affection and hostility as her violent father re-enters her life alongside her own burgeoning sexual awakening. This film, directed by Valentina Maurel, won three major awards at the Locarno Film Festival, including Best Direction, Best Actress and Best Actor.

The feature directorial debut of Paolo Tizón, this 2024 documentary co-production between Peru, Spain and Mexico follows young recruits enlisting in the Peruvian Air Force. The film examines their aspirations of becoming men of war as they prepare for deployment to the VRAEM conflict zone. It served as Peru’s official submission for the 99th Academy Awards.

Directed by David Serrano and adapted from the play Lapònia by Cristina Clemente and Marc Angelet, this 2026 comedy stars Natalia Verbeke, Julián López and Ángela Cervantes. The narrative explores the comedic cultural clash that erupts when a Spanish family travels to Finland to visit relatives during the holiday season.

Set in São Paulo in 1919, this 2025 historical Brazilian drama directed by Flavia Castro revolves around a young playwright who earns a scholarship to study theatre in Paris. However, her ambitious dreams encounter resistance from a conservative society where women are granted little control over their own bodies and artistic destinies.

This expansive 2026  documentary directed by José Luis López-Linares explores over 500 years of Hispanic history across the United States. Spanning regions from Alaska and Baja California to New York and Puerto Rico, the film re-examines American art, music and social development through an overlooked Hispanic perspective.

This year’s programme brings together five short films from the Philippines, Latin America and Spain. The selection includes the Filipino films Agapito (Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero, 2025) and Elenita, Elena, Elaine (Gabriela Serrano, 2025); the Chilean short Voz de trompeta (Pilar Smoje Gueico and David Monarte Serna); the Spanish production Gilbert (Arturo Lacal, Alex Salu, and Jordi Jiménez, 2024); and ¡Abre las piernas!, directed by Mexican filmmaker Águeda V Flores (2025).

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