The Seville European Film Festival unveils two major highlights of its 22nd edition: the addition to competition of the directorial debut of Sevillian screenwriter and filmmaker Rafael Cobos, ‘Golpes’; and the expansion of the Special Screenings section, which now includes new selections of European auteur cinema presented out of competition.
Special Screenings closes its program with five essential titles
The Special Screenings section, dedicated to works of strong authorial vision, completes its lineup with five new additions that further enrich its diverse panorama of contemporary European cinema. Among them is ‘Los tigres’, the new feature by Alberto Rodríguez, starring Antonio de la Torre and Bárbara Lennie, and written by Rodríguez together with his long-time collaborator Rafael Cobos. This tense, atmospheric thriller dives into the little-known world of industrial diving, where its protagonists — part divers, part astronauts, part plumbers — push their vocation to the extreme.
This screening carries special significance this year, as Alberto Rodríguez will also receive a Giraldillo of Honor, sharing the Festival’s tribute with Juliette Binoche, Costa-Gavras, and Jim Sheridan — four careers that have decisively contributed to the excellence of European cinema.
This section of distinctive works includes politically engaged documentaries, comedies, and genre films that invite reflection and entertainment alike: world premieres, rediscoveries, cult works, and popular cinema featuring familiar faces.
Standing out among them is ‘Gran redada gitana: historia de un genocidio’, by Pilar Távora, a documentary that sheds light on one of the darkest chapters of Spanish history — the persecution and enslavement of the Romani population in 1749 under the reign of Ferdinand VI. Through rigorous research and testimonies from voices such as Raúl Quinto, National Narrative Prize winner, and activist Séfora Vargas, the Sevillian filmmaker reconstructs a silenced past.
Spanish classic cinema also finds its place in this section with the screening of ‘Eugenia de Montijo’ (1944), written and directed by José López Rubio, a 19th-century romantic drama that pays tribute to the famous Granadan aristocrat. Starring Amparo Rivelles, Fernando Rey, and Tony Leblanc, and featuring music by Joaquín Turina, the film will be shown as part of the “Ruta Turina” activities organized by the Seville City Council.
The popular and humorous spirit of Andalusian cinema is represented by ‘To er mundo é güeno’ (1982), the first installment in the hidden-camera comedy trilogy directed by Sevillian filmmaker Manuel Summers, which portrays with irony and tenderness the naïve charm of everyday life. This close, human perspective is also reflected in ‘Te protegerán mis alas’, by Antonio Cuadri, written with Claudio Crespo, Pedro Delgado, and Isabel de Azcárraga — an odyssey from the forgotten streets of Togo to the margins of Europe, following an orphan from West Africa who finds hope through a Spanish missionary.
Alongside these works, Special Screenings will also feature previously announced titles such as ‘In-I in Motion’, written and directed by Juliette Binoche; ‘Todos los lados de la cama’, directed by Samantha López Speranza and written by Carlos del Hoyo and Irene Bohoyo; ‘Rondallas’, written and directed by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo; ‘Arsa’, directed and written by the artistic duo Masbedo with Giorgio Vasta as co-writer; ‘Malecón’, written and directed by Carlos Larrazabal, with co-writer Fabián Suárez; ‘El último arrebato’, written and directed by Marta Medina and Enrique López Lavigne, with a screenplay by Medina and Jaime Chávarri; and ‘Fillos do vento: A rapa’, written and directed by Brais Revaldería.
In addition, the Festival’s special screenings will include new proposals from Andalusian cinema: the horror thriller ‘La casa en el árbol’, written and directed by Luis Calderón; as well as documentaries such as ‘Fandango’, directed by Remedios Malvárez Báez and Arturo Andújar, and written by Malvárez and Miguel Ángel Parra; ‘Lorca en la Habana’, by José Antonio Torres-Márquez and Antonio Manuel; ‘Velintonia 3’, by Javier Vila, co-written with Leticia Salvago; ‘Luis Gordillo. Manual de instrucciones’, by Sema D’Acosta and Antonio García Jiménez; ‘La muralla de los prisioneros’, by José Luis Tirado; ‘El gigante mudo’, by Francisco Campos; and ‘Pendaripen. The Silenced History of the Romani People’, directed by Sevillian filmmaker Alfonso Sánchez and written by Eva Montoya.
‘Golpes’, by Rafael Cobos, joins the Panorama Andaluz competition
The Seville European Film Festival adds to its competitive section Panorama Andaluz the feature film ‘Golpes’, the directorial debut of Rafael Cobos, the Sevillian screenwriter who has won two Goya Awards and is a long-time collaborator of Alberto Rodríguez (‘Marshland’, ‘Modelo 77’, ‘Unit 7’).
With ‘Golpes’, Cobos makes his transition to directing with a fresh and contemporary take on the Spanish “quinqui” cinema of the 1980s. In what he describes as “a heist thriller about blood ties and memory,” Luis Tosar and Jesús Carroza play two brothers: one, a police officer; the other, a recently released convict who gathers his old gang to rob banks, jewelry stores, and the first casino in the area.
Its inclusion reinforces the Festival’s commitment to showcasing regional talent and consolidating Panorama Andaluz as a competitive space that celebrates the vitality and diversity of cinema made in Andalusia.
