FOURTH Edition

LA OLA 2018 (Los Angeles + New York + CDMX)

Feature Film Screenings

Júlia Ist

Directed by Elena Martín

2017, 90 min, digital. In German and Catalan with English subtitles.

Julia decides to leave Barcelona to study in Berlin. She won’t think about leaving home too much, ready for an adventure. The city, cold and gray, gives her an icier welcome than she expected, and confronts her expectations with the harsh reality: Julia’s new life seems to be far from the one she imagined in the classrooms of Barcelona.

This film premiered at Málaga Spanish Film Festival 2017, earning awards for Best Film and Best Director in the Zonalibre section, and it has been part of the official selection of San Sebastián Film Festival, SEMINCI at Valladolid and CinemaJove in Spain, among many others.

 

Screening in Los Angeles

Screening in Mexico City

Screening in New York City


Donkeyote

Directed by Chico Pereira

2017, 86 min, digital. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Manolo, who leads a simple life in Southern Spain, loves two things: his animals and wandering through nature. Against the advice of his doctor, he decides to plan one last trek in the U.S., the brutal 2,200-mile Trail of Tears, but not without his donkey. As their adventure continues, Manolo’s wondrous friendship with his animal finds a beautiful equilibrium. Will they find the American West? More importantly, will they be able to see life as it is, and not as it should be?

The film has been recognized by the International Documentary Association (IDA) with a Best Script award, the Jury Award at Docs México, the Audience award at Málaga Spanish Film Festival and has been part of the official selection of Rotterdam Film Festival, among many others.

 

Screening in Los Angeles

Screening in Mexico City

Screening in New York City


Niñato

Directed by Adrián Orr

2017, 72 min, digital. In Spanish with English subtitles.

David, aka “Niñato,” a young, unemployed single father and occasional rapper, lives with his parents, his child, his sister, and his niece. In the midst of this rather peculiar family life, he tries to preserve a few minutes for himself and his passion for rhyme and music. David’s dedication to keeping his dream alive reinforces his concern with the education of the children, especially the youngest, Oro. Little by little, Oro’s growing confidence and his father’s passion seem to reinforce each other in mutual harmony, and we sense that David has succeeded in passing on what Oro needs to find his own way in life.

‘Niñato’ won the Best Documentary award at BAFICI in Buenos Aires, the Jury Award at Visions Du Réel (Switzerland), and has been recognized with a nomination for the Fénix Awards, among more prizes at Sevilla Film Festival, Quito Film Festival and Sarajevo Film Festival.

 

Screening in Los Angeles

Screening in Mexico City

Screening in New York City


The Sea Stares at Us From Afar

Directed by Manuel Muñoz

2017, 92 min, digital. In Spanish with English subtitles.

The legend of an ancient and forgotten civilization lies buried beneath a large expanse of dunes. For more than a century, certain travelers have reached this remote and desolate territory looking for the traces of ancient inhabitants, the ruins of a city, or perhaps a sort of lost utopia. Ignorant of these myths and the romantic delusions of archaeologists and adventurers, a few men, barely visible among the sands, today inhabit in solitude that place facing the sea.

‘The Sea Stares at Us From Afar’ premiered at Berlinale Forum in 2017 and won the Best Documentary award at Tolouse Spanish Film Festival, the Best Feature Film award at L’Alternativa Film Festival in Barcelona and the De Luxe Award at Sevilla Film Festival.

 

Screening in Los Angeles

Screening in Mexico City

Screening in New York City


Short Film Program

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ALIENS

Directed by Luis López Carrasco

2017, 23 min, digital. In Spanish with English subtitles.

“This world has always seemed to me to be somewhat strange, somewhat alien to all of my emotions.” An alien is a foreigner, an outcast, and, in popular culture, an inhabitant from another planet. Tesa Arranz, a key figure in the 1980s Madrid scene and the lead singer of the Zombies, has painted over 500 portraits of outer-space creatures. Confronting the singer’s paintings with the memories of her youth, her poems and diaries, ALIENS depicts an emotional landscape in Spanish history where happiness, nightmarish experimentations, and alienation walked hand-in-hand.

Official Selection at Locarno Film Festival 2017, Toronto International Film Festival 2017, New York Film Festival 2017 etc.


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THE DISINHERITED / LOS DESHEREDADOS

Directed by Laura Ferrés

2017, 18 min, digital. In Catalan and Spanish with English subtitles.

A portrait of the director’s father as he faces the end of his family business. Pere Ferrés is 53 years old and owns a small bus company. His straitened circumstances force him to drive drunken bachelor-party-bound revelers who destroy his vehicle, but he is not prepared to lose his dignity.

56 Semaine de la Critique - Cannes (France): Best Short Film, Spanish Academy Award: Best Short Film (2017), etc.


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QUIASMA

Directed by Tono Mejuto

2018, 12 min, digital, b&w.

A dance film that captures the research and choreographic process of Javier Martín for his work ‘the exform,’ performed for the first time in September 2016 at the Teatro Colón of A Coruña, Spain. Filmed on 16mm, QUIASMA explores the intersection between performing and visual arts in a context of collective research around the arts of movement.

Official selection at Play-Doc 2017, Filmadrid 2017, Fiva Almagro 2017 and Curtocircuíto 2017, among many others.

 


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SANTA ANA

Directed by César Pesquera

2017, 8 min, digital. In English.

Part art film, part documentary, SANTA ANA aims to elucidate the link between evil and the famed Santa Ana winds in Southern California, which are supposedly responsible for a tense, uneasy, wrathful mood among the people of Los Angeles.

Official selection at Raindance 2017, BFI London Film Festival 2017, Slamdance 2018, SXSW 2018, among many others.