November 2009

The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114. To order advance tickets online, visit the TicketWeb website by clicking here.

THE FESTIVAL OF
NEW SPANISH CINEMA

November 13-19, 2009

"Offer(s) some real treats, from light comedy to dark drama"
  -TimeOut Chicago

The Facets Cinémathèque is very proud to present The Festival of New Spanish Cinema in collaboration with Pragda. This event will showcase an excellent menu of offbeat, independent and artistically-inspired Spanish films from all genres: experimental, documentary, animation and narrative. With films by such veteran filmmakers as Juan Luis Iborra, Javier Fesser and Gabriel Velázquez shown side-by-side with cutting edge debut productions from the newest generation including Albert Arizza, Irene Cardona, David Planell, Santiago Zannou, and Miguelanxo Prado, there is much to celebrate in this year's festival. There will be new and outrageous interpretations of classic genres including melodrama, thriller and animation, and the styles range from superb examples of Spain's offbeat thrillers like Ramirez and the brutal, wrenching fairy tales Camino and De Profundis, to socially engaged cinema like A Fiancé for Yasmina or One-Armed Trick. Additionally, short films will be available online at www.pragda.com and, last but not least, as a new offering this year and to precede each feature, we present Teaserland: an entertaining initiative featuring fake movie trailers by well-known directors such as Isabel Coixet, so have a look we will share our Spanish extravaganza with you!

Organized by Pragda, Barcelona, and curated by Marta Sánchez, the program is made possible by the support of Dirección General de Política e Industrias Culturales of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Tourist Office of Spain, and Embassy of Spain, Washington, DC. Additional support comes from Dirección General de Relaciones Culturales y Científicas, Filmoteca, and AECI, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation. Special thanks to Freixenet for the opening night post-film reception.



TimeOut Chicago    

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Gala Presentation!
THE SHAME
(La Vergüenza)

Opening night, Friday Nov. 13, is SOLD OUT


The opening frames of this beautifully composed drama introduce us to a seemingly normal bourgeois home (nice furniture, rock posters, Jean Renoir books), but already something is not quite correct. A woman, Lucia, awakens alone, only to be greeted by her adopted Peruvian son Manu with silence, and by her husband Pepe with condemnation: "There's no water again!" It's not just the pipes that are blocked, but an entire family's emotions. As tentative parents Lucia and Pepe struggle with Manu and wonder if they should "return" the boy, an adoption caseworker arrives, who may decide for them. Their Peruvian maid may help, but she has secrets of her own. Director and writer Planell (winner of many awards for his short works) perfects a measured tale of human imperfections and fears, aided by an amazing cast. (Pacific Film Archive) Directed by David Planell, Spain, 2009, 35mm, 107 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Trailer        



Showtimes:
Fri., Nov. 13 at 7 pm --sold out
Tues., Nov. 17 at 7 pm

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SOUND OF THE SEA
(De Profundis)

Spanish graphic novelist Miguelanxo Prado, one of the best-known and important European comic artists, turns to animation with Sound of the Sea, a simple and lyrical labor of love about freedom, passion and loss. A woman plays the viola while her partner, a painter who is fascinated by the sea, is away on a fishing boat. The boat is capsized by a storm and the painter, along with a mermaid, undertake a dreamlike underwater journey through a series of evocative seascapes. By tracing the creative voyage of the painter using themes brought to life by the digitization of thousands of the director´s own oil paintings, drawings and acrylics, Prado offers an homage to the sea that feels like a return to the early principles of cartoon art. Overall, Sound of the Sea is a strange and fantastic love story, sure to please adults and children alike. Directed by Miguelanxo Prado, Spain/Portugal, 2007, 75 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Director bio        



Showtimes:
Sat., Nov. 14 at 1 pm
Tues., Nov. 17, 9 pm

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RAMÍREZ

Ramirez is a confident loner whose discursive methods and handsome features have permitted him to wanders aimlessly through life without being too concerned about his future. Despite a luxurious Madrid apartment and upper-middle-class status, he has chosen a life of crime. A drug dealer by day, he is a dangerous predator of anonymous women by night, who become the objects of his perverse "artistic" tendencies. His character is shrouded in mystery although perhaps the key to unlocking it resides in his indifference to his bed-ridden mother. When his obsessions with one-night stands and photography collide in an unforgettable climax, he becomes a victim of his own heartlessness. Directed by Albert Arizza, Spain, BetaSP, 90 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Official site     Chicago Reader        



Showtimes:
Sat., Nov. 14 6 pm
Mon., Nov. 16 at 9 pm

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CAMINO

Inspired by real events, Camino is an emotional adventure about an extraordinary 11-year-old girl (Nerea Camacho) who is simultaneously faced with two completely new events in her life: falling in love and dying. The uncompromising script is not anti-religious, though it successfully condemns the dehumanizing effects of religious extremism. It is quite controversial thanks to its acerbic criticism of the controversial Opus Dei movement and Catholic fundamentalism in general. Widely acclaimed at its San Sebastian debut this year, Camino intertwines drama, horror and animation in outrageous new ways to enrich us with what is one of the most powerful Spanish films of the decade. Directed by Javier Fesser, Spain, 2009, 35mm , 143 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Official site     Director interview     TimeOut Chicago        



Showtimes:
Sat., Nov. 14 at 8:15 pm
Sun., Nov. 15 at 2 pm

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A FIANCÉ FOR YASMINA
(Un Novio para Yasmina)

Lola loves weddings, even though her own marriage is on the rocks. She suspects that her husband Jorge has fallen in love with Yasmina, brilliantly played by Moroccan actress Sanaa Alaoui, who is in need of a visa to stay in Spain. Meanwhile, Yasmina is in a hurry to marry Javi, who proves to be a master of commitment issues as demonstrated by his reluctance to set a date. While Alfredo is against the marriage, he would be ready to get married for friendship... or for money. A Fiancé For Yasmina is a very tender romantic story that charts the tangled imbroglio which arises when emotional dilemmas, star-crossed relationships and the unpredictable effects of love bring mayhem upon a group of friends. This film is a fresh take on the ensemble drama that swept the awards at the Malaga Film Festival. Directed by Irene Cardona, Spain/Morocco, 2008, 35mm, 92 mins. In Spanish and Arabic with English subtitles.

Official site (in Spanish)     Variety        



Showtimes:
Sun., Nov. 15 at 5 pm
Wed., Nov. 18 at 7 pm

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DESPERATE WOMEN aka CRAZY

Along the lines of early Almodóvar comedies like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Desperate Women is a sexy and hilarious mystery/comedy about the absurdities of love and life itself. This eagerly anticipated film from writer-director Juan Luis Iborra (Kilometer Zero, Mouth to Mouth) follows three women trying to track down a missing lover. Blanca meets the man of her dreams, falls in love and loses him, all in one week. Then, by chance a few months later, she and her aunt Barbara find a portrait of him in the house of a charming old couple. The man is not only revealed to be their son, but has also been deceased for quite some time. Determined to learn more about the mysterious man, Blanca and Barbara begin an unpredictable and hilarious investigation. This often outrageous thriller gathers three generations of the best Spanish female actresses against a backdrop of some of the most rarely-seen and odd areas of Madrid. Directed by Juan Luis Iborra, Spain, 2008, 35mm, 90 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Showtimes:
Sun., Nov. 15 at 7 pm
Wed., Nov. 18 at 9 pm

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AMATEURS

Julio Nieves is a 65-year-old foreman who has spent his entire life in the Madrid suburb of Vallecas. In the blink of an eye, he goes from contentedly facing his retirement alone to the possibility of companionship in the form of a 16-year-old girl from Marseille, who claims to be his daughter. But what if she is not actually his daughter and what if Nieves takes care of her to ease the anguish of his acute solitude? How far will people go to avoid being alone? Directed by Gabriel Velázquez, Spain, 2008, 35mm, 84 mins. In Spanish and French with English subtitles.



Showtimes:
Sun., Nov. 15 at 9 pm
Thurs., Nov. 19 at 7 pm

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ONE-ARMED TRICK
(El Truco del Manco)

Santiago Zannou makes an impressive feature film debut with this winner of three Goya Awards. Paralyzed in half of his body from childhood, Cuajo has a single dream: he wants to be a successful musician. Together with his friend Adolfo, he attempts to set up a studio while gathering some of Barcelona's freshest hip-hop talent. One-Armed Trick features some of the hottest stars of Spanish rap, including Elio Sagues, Ovone Candela, La Mala Rodriguez and El Langui, lead singer of La Excepción, who was recently voted the best Spanish-language rapper on MTV. Directed by Santiago Zannou, Spain, 2008, 35mm, 100 mins, In Spanish with English subtitles.

Official site        



Showtimes:
Mon., Nov. 16 at 7 pm
Thurs., Nov. 19 at 9 pm

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For all Cinémathèque inquiries, contact Charles Coleman at
773.281.9075 or charles@facets.org