Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) showcases the best of Spanish and Latin American cinema in Scotland's capital and beyond.
This year’s tenth edition is a mix of in-person screenings, discussions and other events at eight venues across:
- Edinburgh (various)
- Glasgow (Glasgow Film Theatre)
- Inverness (Eden Court)
- Stirling (Macrobert Arts Centre)
As usual, the Festival brings together staff and students from Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies and from Film Studies in both organising and guest roles. They will be joined by visiting actors, directors and writers, and by academics from other universities.
The Festival is also a case study in our final year undergraduate course, Exhibiting Spanish Cinema, which is run by ESFF Curator and Organiser, Marian A. Aréchaga.
The Spanish Transition in cinema
This year, the Festival pays a special tribute to the ‘Spanish Transition’ in cinema.
Some of the films on show were made during the period following the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, others are new titles based on that period in modern Spanish history.
Highlights include the Festival’s opening film (5 October), Carlos Saura’s drama 'Cría Cuervos (Raise Ravens)', which won the Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize Award in 1976.
Before the screening of 'Backroads' (13 October), scriptwriter Ignacio Martínez de Pisón will give a talk on The Spanish Transition to Democracy: From Despair to Euphoria, followed by a conversation with Marian A. Aréchaga. The writer will also be giving a two-hour creative writing masterclass on Thursday 12 October at the University of Edinburgh.
Browse the full 2023 programme on the ESFF website
10 years of Spanish cinema in schools
Over the last decade, the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival has played an important role in raising the profile of the Spanish language, and films from Spanish-speaking countries, among young people.
To mark ten years of activities for schools and families, the Festival is offering online access to two films - The Footballest and Weird. During the first week of October (2 to 6), schools across the UK can screen the films in the classroom, then dive deeper into the themes using worksheets.
Get an access code for schools
The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival is supported by a range of organisations including the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Spanish Embassy in London, and the Cervantes Institute Manchester.
