FILM buffs will be able to catch a series of movies considered as “The Other Spanish Cinema,” a label with which the generation who started working with cinema at the dawn of the 21st century was named, through the “New Cinephilias Online” film series on Vimeo.

Instituto Cervantes and Festival de Sevilla, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, will present “New Cinephilias Online” through the Instituto Cervantes channel on the Vimeo platform. The films will be freely accessible for 48 hours from their start date and time. A new film will be shown every Saturday starting Nov. 7.

The films to be shown are Adrián Orr’s documentary Niñato (Kid), which was named Best Film during the 19th BAFICI – Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente (Buenos Aires International Independent Film Festival); the drama feature films Ver a una mujer (To See a Woman) by Mònica Rovira and A estación violenta (The Wild Season) by Anxos Fazáns; and Xavier Artigas and Xapo Ortega’s documentary Idrissa, crònica d´una mort qualsevol (Idrissa, Chronicle of an Ordinary Death), which was nominated to the XII Premios Gaudí (Guadí Awards) and the 15th Festival de Sevilla de cine europeo (Seville European Film Festival).

“These films are creations of filmmakers who sought to express themselves with new paradigms and who benefited from the freedom offered by the digital revolution,” a release from the Insituto Cervantes says. “During the last 20 years, these artists have created a niche where they experiment with new narrative models. There is no doubt that, with them, new viewers are born who appreciate and look forward to seeing the fruits of their labors: the modes of postmodernity, the visual quality, the formal audacity and the multiple representations of these films are some of the features they share and that are recognized by creators and viewers.”

“New Cinephilias Online” will start on Nov. 7, 3 a.m. in Manila (Nov. 6, 8 p.m. in Madrid), with the screening of Niñato (2017), which will be available for 48 hours until Nov. 9 at 3 a.m. The documentary focuses on the family of David Ransanz, a young and jobless rapper from the suburbs of Madrid who raises a three year old while living in his mother’s house. Director Adrián Orr draws a moving and close portrait of this “kid” who tries to resist a monotonous and not very encouraging situation, while still holding on to his musical dreams.

Premiering on Nov. 14, again at 3 a.m. Manila time, is the drama Ver a una mujer. Directed by Mònica Rovira in 2017, it is an intimate film about the relationship between the director and her first female love, Sarai.

Another feature film, 2018’s A estación violenta, will be shown on Nov. 21. This dazzling debut of Anxos Fazáns, adapted from the novel by Manuel Jabois, showcases life in a city where there is no horizon other than that of an unhappy past and that of a lost generation. It is a story of silent loves, broken complicities, and mutual mistrust.

The film series ends with the documentary Idrissa, crònica d´una mort qualsevol, on Nov. 28. The film depicts how the Spanish legal system has made it nearly impossible to investigate into the death of a 21-year-old Guinean migrant at the Centre d’Internament d’Estrangers de Barcelona (Foreigners Internment Center of Barcelona). The directors are not just recounting a real life story, but conveying about the effective use of cinema as a tool for action and change.

The films are in Spanish with English subtitles. Admission is free. For further information and updates on this film series, check out http://manila.cervantes.es or Instituto Cervantes’ Facebook page, www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

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