Spanish Focus at the 52nd Molodist
Spanish Focus at the 52nd Molodist
This year’s Molodist features a Spanish Focus national program
With the financial support of the Embassy of Spain in Ukraine
At the 52nd Molodist KIFF, viewers can watch the best films by Spanish filmmakers. The festival will also feature a presentation of the Spanish film school ESCAC (Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia).
Spanish Focus is supported by the Embassy of Spain in Ukraine.
We remind you that the 52nd Molodist KIFF will be held from October 21 to 29, 2023.
Films presented as part of the Spanish Focus:
International Full-Length Competition:
20,000 Species of Bees, Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, Spain, 2023, 128’
An eight-year-old girl struggles with the fact that people keep addressing her in confusing ways. They persist in calling her by the name she was given upon birth, Aitor. Her nickname, Cocó, although less hurtful, doesn’t suit her too well either. During a summer in the Basque Country, she explores her identity alongside the women of her family, who simultaneously reflect on their own lives and desires.
Young actress Sofía Otero won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale 2023 for her depiction of the main character.
Student Competition:
Crack of Dawn, Anna Llargués, Spain, 2023, 29’
The Pink Voice, Marieke Dora Elzerman, Spain, 2023, 26’
Special Events:
The Hunt, Carlos Saura, Spain, 1966, 91’
A special screening of the classic Spanish film. A restored copy of The Hunt was presented this year at the Venice Film Festival. Back in the day, Carlos Saura was awarded the Best Director at the Berlinale for this film.
José, Paco, and Luis, three middle-aged men, reunite in a provincial village of Castile, spending a hot summer’s day drinking, reminiscing, and hunting rabbits. José instigates the hunt. He is in debt due to an impending divorce and lives beyond his means with a younger woman. His main objective at the reunion is to secure a loan from Paco, a shrewd businessman, also unhappily in love and looking for younger women. Paco brings with him Luis, now employed at his factory. Luis is a weak, forlorn individual, an alcoholic addicted to wine, women, and science fiction rather than social conviviality or male camaraderie. A fourth group member, Enrique, a teenage relative of Paco's, comes along for the thrill of the rabbit hunt.
This screening pays tribute to the late director Carlos Saura, who passed away earlier this year.
Festival of the Festivals
The Rye Horn, Jaione Camborda, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, 2023, 105’
Illa de Arousa, 1971. Maria is a woman who earns a living harvesting shellfish. She is also known on the island for helping other women in childbirth with extraordinary dedication and care. After an unexpected event, she is forced to flee and sets out on a dangerous journey that will make her fight for survival. Seeking her freedom, Maria crosses the border by one of the smugglers’ routes between Galicia and Portugal. The Rye Horn by Jaione Camborda won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Film Festival in late September this year.
My Emptiness and I, Adrian Silvestre, Spain, 2022, 98’
Adrian Silvestre’s film won the first Ukrainian LGBTQIA+ film festival SUNNY BUNNY, founded by the Molodist KIFF team this year.
A French woman, Raphi, fantasizes about romances with princes and starting a traditional family. However, her situation looks nothing like that. She works in a call center in Barcelona, struggles with dates that often turn embarrassing, and is diagnosed by her therapist as having gender dysphoria. We follow this trans woman as she makes her transition during this essential, if confusing, period. We see her daily as she talks candidly with colleagues, queer friends, and the men she meets through apps. Despite all the advice she receives, it turns out that it is mainly time and experience that will help her embrace her place in this world.
FORMA
You Have to Come and See It, Jonás Trueba, Spain, 2022, 64’
One winter night in Madrid, two couples of friends in their thirties are having dinner. Susana and Guillermo rejoice in their new home, on the outskirts of town and close to the countryside, then announce the imminent arrival of a child. Their friends do not seem to share their joy, although they promise to visit them soon. They have fallen out of touch. Only three months later, in the spring, Elena and Daniel finally visit their friends’ house.
Samsara, Lois Patiño, Spain, 2023, 113’
Samsara is a dual story that spans two continents, two distinct communities, two different belief systems, and two lives marked by unique experiences. Yet, they share a profound connection. In Laos, a young man named Amid cares for a terminally ill woman. He encounters a young monk, Bi An, and tells him about the Bardo Thodol, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which is to be read aloud to another person. As the woman passes away, the narrative transitions to Tanzania, where a young girl named Juwairiya wakes up to the news of a baby goat’s birth. “Life is so unpredictable,” her grandmother remarks. A sense of rebirth permeates the air.