7th Hispanic Film Festival

Athens’ Hispanic Film Festival – FeCHA returns for its 7th edition, greater than ever, to inaugurate once again the summer cinema season and to showcase the rich cinematic wealth of Spanish-speaking countries.

The screenings of FeCHA will take place at the open-air summer cinemas Εllinis Cinemax Europa Cinemas and Αello Cinemax, and extra events and screenings will be hosted by Ιnstituto Cervantes, Hellenic American Union, Exile Room and Hellenic Open University.

The programme includes 22 feature-length films, a tribute to contemporary Basque Cinema, a selection of some of the best Spanish-speaking short films, as part of the Festival’s short film section, cortoFeCHA, a masterclass on screenwriting by award-winning Spanish director Félix Viscarret and screenings in collaboration with Animasyros and Athens Pride.

Program

Thursday 25 Μay | 20:50
Unfinished Affairs/La maniobra de la tortuga – Juan Miguel del Castillo, Spain, 2022, 103’

Based on the novel by Benito Olmo. Inspector Manuel Bianquetti is forced to accept a transfer to a police precinct in the south of Spain. His initially peaceful move will soon take a turn when the body of a young girl who reminds him of a terrible past is discovered. Despite the opposition of his superiors, Bianquetti sets out on a solitary crusade to find the culprit, following clues that might be just figments of his imagination. The only person on his side seems to be his neighbour, a fragile nurse who is harassed by her former partner.

Thursday 25 May | 23:00
You lie, you die/Escape room: La pel·licula – Hèctor Claramunt, Spain, 2021, 93’

Four friends. One room. A lot of secrets. And only one way out: the truth. This season’s most outrageous comedy will turn two couples’ plans on their heads, when all they wanted was a fun night out at an escape room. If they want to find their way out of this game, that is as unpredictable as it is crazy, they will have to put their friendship to the test. The moment of truth has come.

Friday 26 May | 20:50
La civil – Teodora Mihai, Mexico, 2021, 135’

Cielo is a mother whose teenage daughter is kidnapped in Northern Mexico. When the authorities offer no support in the search, Cielo takes matters into her own hands and transforms from housewife into a vengeful militant.

Friday 26 May | 23:15
Dive – Lucía Puenzo, Argentina-Mexico, 2022, 95’

Based on true events with Karla Souza from “How to get away with murder” Mariel is a veteran competitive diver who has one last chance at the Olympics. However, when a terrible truth surfaces, Mariel has to confront her biggest personal dilemma yet: is winning really her ultimate dream? The film was shot in Greece.

Saturday 27 May | 20:50
Plaza Catedral – Abner Benaim, Panama, 2021, 94’

The life of a grieving 40-year-old woman changes completely when a 14-year-old boy shows up at her house bleeding. Panama’s official entry to the Oscars.

Saturday 27 May | 22:45
Burning cold/El frio que quema – Santi Trullenque, Spain, 2022, 116’

Winter 1943 in the Pyrenees. The echoes of World War II resound in the border village where Sara and Antoni live, a young married couple expecting their first child. The arrival of a family of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution will disrupt life in the valley. Sara must face a difficult decision: obey reason or follow her heart. The past and the secrets that the snow has kept buried for years are about to come to light.

Sunday 28 May | 20:50
The strong ones/Los fuertes – Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo, Chile, 2019, 98’

Lucas travels to visit his sister who lives in a remote town in Southern Chile. Beside the ocean shrouded in the wintery mist he meets Antonio, a boatswain on a local fishing boat. When an intense romance blossoms between them, their strength, independence, and adulthood become immovable, just like the ebb and flow of the tide. With a total of 9 awards and participations in several queer festivals, the Latin American “Weekend” comes to sweep us up in a story that will leave no one unmoved.

Sunday 28 May | 23:00
Offworld/Apagon – Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Alberto Rodríguez, Spain, 2022, 90’

What would the world look like without electicity? Based on the popular podcast “The Big Blackout”, Offworld is new Spanish TV mini-series of 5 stand-alone episodes directed by some of the best Spanish directors of our time, who try to image a world without technology. We will get to see episodes by award-winning directors Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Alberto Rodríguez.

Monday 29 May | 20:50
The invisible girl/La pampa – Dorian Fernández-Moris, Peru, 2022, 106’

Juan, a former public official, flees from justice and from the tragedy that marked him for life. Reina, a teenage girl, runs away from the sexual and moral abuses she has suffered since she was a kid in the sexual exploitation camps of La Pampa, a place controlled by gold mining mafias. Joined together by destiny they will depart in search of Reina’s family in a territory of the Peruvian Amazon without authority, ravaged by crime and greed.

Monday 29 May | 23:00
Staring at strangers/No mires a los ojos – Félix Viscarret, Spain, 2022, 107’

Damian has just been fired after working at the same company for 20 years. Following an angry and violent reaction, he runs away from his boss and hides in the first place he can find: a wardrobe loaded on a van. But the wardrobe, with Damian inside, is then delivered to Lucia and Fede, a couple of his age living with their adolescent daughter, Maria. That same night, a sudden impulse leads Damian to stay with the family and become a mysterious presence, observing and moving around in the shadows. Based on the novel by Juan José Millás.

Tuesday 30 May | 20:50
Argentina, 1985 – Santiago Mitre, Argentina, 2022, 140’

“Argentina, 1985” is inspired by the true story of Julio Strassera, Luis Moreno Ocampo and their young legal team of unlikely heroes in their David-vs-Goliath battle to prosecute Argentina’s bloodiest military dictatorship against all odds and in a race against time to bring justice to the victims of the Military Junta. With Ricardo Darin. Nominated for an Oscar.

Wednesday 31 May | 20:50
You lie, you die/Escape room: La pel·licula – Hèctor Claramunt, Spain, 2021, 93’

Four friends. One room. A lot of secrets. And only one way out: the truth. This season’s most outrageous comedy will turn two couples’ plans on their heads, when all they wanted was a fun night out at an escape room. If they want to find their way out of this game, that is as unpredictable as it is crazy, they will have to put their friendship to the test. The moment of truth has come.

Wednesday 31 May | 22:50
My father’s Mexican marriage/La novia de America – Alfonso Albacete, Mexico-Spain, 2023, 107’

A father announces his offspring he is getting married in Mexico with a woman he met in a dating group a few months ago. Not only that, wedding is in Mexico. Both her children, and their mother’s sister, go to Mexico to try to stop this wedding by all possible means. But reality in Mexico is always surprising for Europeans, and things turn out to be more complicated.