1. There are many exciting films of great variety on a 50th Anniversary of Gijόn Film Festival and regarding just Spanish films on festival, they had its own very special charm. The contemporary Spanish cinema includes many funding sources, including private production companies, nonprofit groups and ministries of culture or nationally owned television but if we regard Spanish film all over the globe we can point out that it has a strong cinematic tradition way back from the Luis Buñuel, or post-Franco censorship removal film regulations, all authors to the very last younger generation author and that is not just about Pedro Almodóvar it is the fact that Spanish film influence is steadily growing all the time. While Pedro Almodóvar’s work is best known and the most accepted by Spanish directors abroad, his relation to Spanish culture in general and Spanish cinema especially is more or less problematic due to a various paradigms from the political to the ethereal, mainly because he has left Spain long time ago and now belongs more to a US culture. And really what does Almodóvar owe to Hollywood Cinema without any intention to be melodramatic? And what is the interrelationship of representations of gender, sexuality or nationality in his work? And how this fits to a history of Spanish Cinema as for him being part of the history of gay cinema due to a type of characters he display in his films? After all, Spanish cinema is not about the gay issue or constant mystifying religion issues present in many Spanish films today but it recognize complex characters and colorful cinematography, most likely moving narratives acclaimed enough by international audiences and critics more or less. Contemporary Spanish film today centers around a strong female or male character (and yes the greatest reprezentor strong female charater of such is still Almodóvar), the characters that strongly negotiates themes such as desire, identity or as much as often longing in engaging dramas, where imagination is stirred as much as struck by juxtaposition of images (interesting Spanish life style, flashbacks, funny montage etc...).
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So let me see, if you are looking at the most Hollywood  Spanish films in the competition section of Gijόn Film Festival I would say 88 by Jordi Mollà. Mollà is very well known Spanish actor slender and deadly handsom in his best known role next to Javier Barden  in Bigas Luna's Jamon, Jamon (1994) and also in Luna’s Sound of the Sea from the 2001 he now changes the role and directs this pretty commercial film: psychological mystery meeting- D.Lynch – thriller about couple who struggles to forget past and face the worse fears in a cheezy hotel room number 88. The film that beyond the doubt attract audience. With his success in the world outside of Spain and passion for life Mollà continues to inspire and impress worldwide and is without doubt a young representor of Spanish cinematography in the world. He’s also written two novels by now, acted in countless films including Blow next to Johnny Depp and recently has exhibited his art in the Sotheby’s Gallery in Madrid etc. This may not be the best film from the competition section of the Gijόn Film Festival but it is the most Hollywood film at very least and is the representation of young Spanish immigration film artists today. “It is like an artistic explosion, and still always is for me, I’m inspired by throwing out any darkness that is inside of me. For me, art cures,” said Jordi Mollà. Well his third film 88 if nothing certainly proves a kind of darkness and may as well a little tiny bit be based on his personal darkness.

 On the contrary from Mollà, Javier Andrade’s debut feature is a social drama Mejor no hablar de ciertas cosas/Porcelain Horse that according to some Spanish critics „shows just how explosive life, love and everything in between can be if it is mixed with danger, drugs and a bit of punk attitude“. The film as social drama is entirely different from 88 and is based on a cruel social reality of Ecuador as a Third World country and clearly pictures different background and different social status of the authors (Mollà /Andrade). Andrade studied filmmaking on Columbia University in New York and was selected for the new coming directors section by New Films Festival of NY and he presents Spanish film all away from different part of the world, from the country that faces far worse reality and social reality, picturing in his feature debut the crude bare existence and drug problem with young people via story about popular music lifestyle. Generally this film is about young people in Ecuador, also about dealing with the aftermath, about thing that comes from the other and about facing the consequences and it is nothing personal for Andrade (unlike Mollà). The film was in a serious competition for the FIPRESCI Award, but hey…

La Venta Del Paraiso /The Sale of Paradise directed by Emile Ruiz Barrachina, awarded journalist and the writer and documentary maker nominated for Goyas made the film in his own poetic style about immigration of poor from Spanish ex colonies to Spain. This film in the competition section of festival certainly rings the bell engaging interesting wacky characters and slightly unreal plot, for which he successfully engages the audience on a certain level, leaving some questions about human dignity wide open. Aura María (Ana Claudia Talancón) is a young Mexican who accepts a promise of transport, work, and accomodation in Madrid but once she gets there, she discovers that she has been scammed so she finds a cheap hostel for B^B. Her coming to a hostel full of strange characters and dreamers make a turning point to all residents of the hostel. The film is a bit of a drama, thriller and comedy and covers serious themes such as family, drug trafficking, immigration and enters into the surreal Doña Pura Pension to introduce us with a whole series of grotesque characters who end up making the story utterly unreal (aka very real). In a way it is obvious that the film was made by a journalist and a writer and by its artistic style it is a strange whirlpool of  unreal cinematic blinks in order to confirm an obvious social critique in order to open more the awareness of a useful audience via pretty interesting gags. The most stand out and clear characters are Olivetti (Juanjo Puigcorbé) a former senior politician who dresses like a woman and Oswaldo (William Miller) the frustrated orchestra conductor obsessed by Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. According the director of the film the story „follows exactly the same structure and rhythm as the overture and as in the case of the Russian composer, he has been inspired by a number of influences, the most obvious of which is Valle Inclán and Buñuel. The result is a "character film" as daring as it is irregular that stimulates reflection on immigration, the crisis, justice, dreams etc…“

And here is a totally different kind of film, it is a Buy a Surtsey directed by Miguel Angel Perez and Javier Asenjo and contributes to a festival’s great variety of films and is a modern, lightheaded comedy about friendship and uncomplicated overcoming certain lifetime phases obstacles. Inaki and Mateo are friends competing in climbing and hiking the mountain peak, but this time bringing their children along. Mateo and Inaki are in different phase of their life and different tempered who are about to overcome their inter-differences of their characters by climbing, but yet they are not 18 any more and they have brought children along. One very entertaining, charming, relaxing and healthy lifestyle film that does not engage serious social subjects but yet still tickles the imagination just enough. Perfect entry for small festivals, and it may cover interest of middle class non politically oriented European audience. Well done film and very well visual film that engages beautiful nature landscapes. The kind of film that brings out happy spirit without manipulation. 

Short Films in Gijόn Film Festival

On this occasion I would like to mention some short films presented on Gijόn Film Festival 50th Anniversary. Efimera directed by Diego Modino Hok by now won the  Best Selection  Award – Official  Green Competition,  Best Art Direction Award and  Best Short Film in HD  Award. Even though it is classified as a film for children I wouldn’t agree so, cause this is the one of the best skill short films I have seen for long time now. It is featuring a little girl who comes to a ballet audition in the old industrial, deserted part of the town with her grandmother, but accidently ending in the shed with mobs, and instead of witnessing the mobster execution she decides to audition her dance in front of them. The mobs instead of continuing their execution are touched with her dance. She is like a little lamb in front of the wolves: she dances for her life without being aware of danger. The film is very visual and at most level artistic: a little perfect. Diego Modino studied Tish School of the Arts at University of New York: and it is quite obvious from the visual style of the film that Modino studied art. Here is something more of the film:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XGE8wJn1nQ