Viva Festival: celebration of Spanish and Latin American culture returns to Manchester arts venue HOME

The popular festival is now in its 28th year and is returning to pre-Covid normality with in-person screenings and visits from directors
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Film fans are in for a treat as a popular celebration of Spanish and Latin American cinema and culture returns to Manchester for an incredible 28th time.

Viva Festival takes place at arts hub HOME in the city and the full programme has now been announced.

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This year’s event has taken a huge step back towards pre-Covid normality as it has returned to its spring slot in the calendar and returned to being a fully in-person event with visiting directors doing Q&As and special events.

Here are five shows on the packed line-up that you won’t want to miss.

A scene from Explota explota, which opens the festivalA scene from Explota explota, which opens the festival
A scene from Explota explota, which opens the festival

Explota explota (My Heart Goes Boom)

The festival explodes into life with its opening screening Explota explota (My Heart Goes Boom) on Friday 18 March.

The feelgood musical romcom told through the greatest hits of 1970s Italian superstar Raffaella Carrà is the directing debut of Uruguayan film-maker Nacho Álvarez.

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Starring Ingrid García Jonsson and Verónica Echegui, the film tells the story of glamorous young dancer Maria as she searches for love and fame against the backdrop of Franco-era Spain.

Álvarez will introduce the opening-night screening and participate in a Q&A following the screening on 19 March.

Maixabel

Among the list of high-profile guests for Viva’s 2022 edition is star of Spanish cinema Icíar Bollaín, who will present her award-winning new film Maixabel on 23 March.

Based on true events, it tells the story of a woman whose husband is killed by the Basque separatist group ETA only to receive a request from one of the assassins to meet him in prison 11 years later.

MaixabelMaixabel
Maixabel
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Maixabel scooped two top awards at the 2021 San Sebastian Film Festival including Best Basque Film and has received 14 nominations for the 2022 Goya Awards.

It’s not the only film in Viva shining a light on stories from the Basque country either, with director Manu Gómez’s personal coming-of-age story Érase una vez en Euskadi (Once Upon a Time in Euskadi), based on his childhood during the 1980s, also on the programme.

Clara Sola

Viva also has a reputation for championing new and emerging talent and this year’s programme includes 11 directorial feature debuts.

They include Clara Sola, a mesmerising portrayal of the late sexual awakening of a woman with mystic powers in rural Costa Rica.

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Directed by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, it will have a special preview screening ahead of its forthcoming UK release.

Amparo

Another first-time film-maker showcasing their talent at Viva is Colombian director Simón Mesa Soto with his semi-autobiographical work Amparo.

AmparoAmparo
Amparo

The film tells the powerful story of a mother’s race against time to save her son from being sent to fight in a war zone.

Karnawal

An Argentinian coming-of-age story, Karnawal is the first outing behind the camera for director Félix Juan Pablo.

KarnawalKarnawal
Karnawal
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Starring the famously sinister Chilean actor Alfredo Castro, the film is set during Carnival and follows a rebellious teenager with a talent for dancing the malambo.

What else is happening at the festival?

Other events at Viva include the return of the free Café Cervantes Spanish-language get-together, and the Language Lab, a bespoke study session for adult Spanish language learners and film fans which will accompany a screening of La Vida era eso.

There will also be short introductions to most films, delivered by the festival team and other local film experts and five specially-selected short films will precede some of the features.

A new innovation for this year will be recorded extras from festival guests available on Homescreen, HOME’s new platform for online culture.

What has been said about the festival?

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HOME’s head of film Rachel Hayward said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming back film-makers to present their work in person to live audiences.

“¡Viva! has always given our audiences the chance to escape to and celebrate different places and cultures across Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America, and I think we are all in need of that ‘cinematic holiday’ right now.

“From our Manchester cinema screens, audiences can travel to 1970s Madrid (Explota explota), experience the atmospheric borderlands of Argentina and Bolivia (Karnawal), visit a remote coffee plantation in Antioquia, Colombia (La Roya), ramble around modern-day Seville (Nueve Sevillas), and beyond! ¡Disfrutad el festival!”

How do I get tickets?

Tickets will go on sale to HOME Friends on Friday 18 February, to HOME Members on Saturday 19 February and to general public on Monday 21 February.

To book tickets, call the box office on 0161 200 1500 or go online to the venue’s website.

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