Latest Expo highlight: Spanish Film Panorama will showcase eight masterpieces in downtown Shanghai

Eight films from eight directors. Each of them with a different background and style. But all of them with something in common: they are contributors to the best Spanish cinema of the last decade. That is what the Spanish Film Panorama will showcase from October 21st to 24th: a colorful and fruitful theatrical experience with eight particular stories. All together, eight cinematique strokes that will compose a bigger picture about the artistic spirit of a country yet to be discovered for many Chinese.

That discovery is already happening. Visitors have already been astonished by the creativity of the ‘Spanish Basket’ in World Expo, both for the architecture and for an exhibition that leads them to understand the long history of Spain. In the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Spanish “bullfighters” won the trophy, triggering a football craze around the world. Now, in October, moviegoers will enjoy the charm of the country as the Spanish Film Panorama fills four movie theaters in Shanghai’s downtown for four full days of the best of its cinema.

The same way as bullfighting and flamenco dance –probably two of the best known cultural expressions from Spain-, Spanish movies also demonstrate the country’s passion and romance. Their special taste, vivid reality and cultural quality stand out over the mainstream commercial movie scene. Furthermore, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem have been starring in Hollywood productions for the last few years, and Fernando Trueba, Pedro Almodóvar, Carlos Saura and Alejandro Amenábar –the last two ones with their own films at the panorama- are often awarded in various international film festivals.

The Spanish Film Panorama is co-organised by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT); the Ministry of Culture of Spain through the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA); the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF); and Spain Pavilion in World Expo 2010. It is also made possible thanks to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and Television as well as with the support of Spain’s Embassy in PRC.

Shanghai Film Art Center, Shanghai Cathay Cinema, BroadBand International Cineplex and Stellar Cinema City will show the eight Spanish movies: “Me Too”, “Flamenco, Flamenco”, “The Sea Inside”, “Seven Billiard Tables”, “The Blind Sunflowers”, “My Life without Me”, “Obaba” and “Mataharis”. The selection of movies represents the highest quality of Spanish productions and the panorama is the one with the largest scale in recent years.

The Spanish movie master Carlos Saura, who has directed “Carmen”, “Tango” and “Goya in Bordeaux”, will be in Shanghai for the premiere of his new movie, “Flamenco, Flamenco”. Since it is yet to be premiered in its homeland, Shanghai will exclusively see Saura’s latest masterpiece as the opening movie of the panorama before anybody else in Spain enjoys it.

Also in Shanghai will be Maribel Verdú, the famous and glamorous Spanish actress from blockbusters such as “Pan’s Labyrinth” or “And your mother too”, that brilliantly casts a widow during the Spanish civil war in “The Blind Sunflowers”, the movie she will be presenting in the panorama. Among the films, it will also be shown “The Sea Inside”, starring Javier Bardem and awarded with the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as the 2004 Grand Jury Prize of the Venice International Film Festival among other prizes.

“Me Too” is co-directed by Álvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro and tells a story of an impossible love. The leading actress Lola Dueñas was awarded the Best Actress in the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Goya Awards (Spanish Oscars). “My Life without Me”, which was one of the competition pieces in the Berlinale, narrates a woman’s fading life in the midst of cancer, bringing emotional waves to the audiences. The movie “Seven Billiard Tables” tells the fate of a woman who rediscovers her life after her father dies and her husband disappears.

The Spanish Film Panorama will also show very different genres: “Obaba”, the story of a discovery of misterious happenings in a deep and remote Northern Spanish township, and a comedy, “Mataharis”, about three detectives who cannot manage their private lives.

Tickets for the Spanish Film Panorama will be available for purchase starting from October 1st, directly on the four cinemas or logging on www.tickets.com.cn and www.ticket2010.com. Please, check the schedule attached to this press release.