El Cannes film festival The festival is preparing for one of its editions most marked by Spanish presence. For the first time since the Palme d'Or was created, three feature films produced in Spain will compete simultaneously for the festival's top prize, placing Spanish cinema at the center of the world stage.
Bitter Christmas, by Pedro Almodóvar; The Loved One, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen; and The Black Ball, by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, are the three key pieces of this historical moment. Three very different titles that share the same objective: to win the coveted Palme d'Or at the 79th edition of the festival, which will be held from May 12 to 23 on the French Riviera.
A historic milestone for Spanish cinema at Cannes
What is happening this year in Cannes is not a mere statistical anecdote: it is a jump in category for the Spanish film industry. Never before, since the establishment of the Palme d'Or in 1955, had three Spanish films coincided in the official competition. The previous record had been two titles in the same year.
To find something similar, one has to go back to the early 1950s, when the Palme d'Or didn't yet exist as such and the festival awarded the Grand Prize. In 1951 and 1954, as many as four Spanish productions competed, in a very different industrial context and with a less extensive selection of countries. Now, in the 21st century, the achievement takes on a new dimension, consolidating Spain's position as power of auteur cinema in Europe.
The festival director, Thierry Frémaux, emphasized at the press conference the "good moment for Spanish cinema" and the effort to develop auteur projects with significant budgets. In his opinion, there is "a movement" within Spanish production that is finding avenues for funding and visibility for this type of film, something Cannes has sought to acknowledge in its selection.
In terms of presence, Spain ranks alongside Japan as the foreign country with the most films in competition, second only to France, the usual dominator of the official selection. triple Spanish presence It also comes after a year in which Romería, by Carla Simón, and Sirat, by Oliver LaxeThey've already set the bar very high on the Croisette.
Pedro Almodóvar and the return of the master with "Bitter Christmas"
Pedro Almodóvar's presence in Cannes has become, over the years, something of a tradition. This time he returns with Bitter ChristmasThis is his 24th feature film, following his previous win of the Golden Lion at Venice for The Room Next Door. The filmmaker from La Mancha thus returns to the festival that has been a significant part of his career, though he still has one regret: he has never won the Palme d'Or.
Bitter Christmas tells the story of Elsa, an advertising director who loses her mother during a long weekend in December. Unable to allow herself any real time to grieve, she throws herself into her work until a panic attack forces her to stop. From there, the character faces a process of forced pause, an inner journey, and a re-examination of her own life. The plot leads her to the island of Lanzarote, where she travels with her friend Patricia in search of a change of scenery, while her partner, Bonifacio, stays in Madrid.
The film's cast is led by Victoria Luengo, who shares the screen with actors such as Bárbara Lennie, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Patrick Criado, Milena Smit, and Quim Gutiérrez. It's an ensemble cast that accompanies a story deeply focused on emotional fragility, the weight of loss, and the difficulty of stopping when everything around us pushes us to keep producing.
Speaking from Paris, where the film is premiering under the title Autofiction, Almodóvar described the selection as a “day of celebration for Spanish cinema.” The director emphasized that it is three very different films from three different generations of filmmakers, and that the mere fact of being present in the official section is already a recognition at a time when auteur cinema needs a visibility that it does not always find in commercial theaters.
Bitter Christmas, moreover, arrives in Cannes well-prepared: it has already premiered in Spanish cinemas, where it has been endorsed by both the box office and a large portion of the specialized critics. Its screening on the Croisette, in this context, represents an international consolidation of a work that many consider one of the filmmaker's most intimate and daring at this stage of his career.
Rodrigo Sorogoyen and «The Beloved»: the great leap into official competition
If Almodóvar represents veteran status, Rodrigo Sorogoyen arrives in Cannes as the confirmation of a generation that has consolidated its position through intense thrillers and dramas. The loved oneThe Madrid-born director enters the official competition for the first time after having gone to Cannes Premiere with As bestas, a film that earned him a César in France and multiple awards in Europe.
The Loved One, written with his regular screenwriter Isabel Peña, follows the relationship between a prestigious film director and his daughter, an actress who has not achieved success. After years of estrangement and silence, they embark on filming a movie together, forcing them to confront a past neither has wanted to face. The story blends the familial with the meta-cinematic, delving into the territory of open wounds and buried resentments.
The cast is headed by Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengowho bring to life that father and daughter trapped between affection and resentment. They are joined by performers such as Raúl Arévalo, Marina Foïs, and Raúl Prieto, among others, in a drama that delves into the intimacy of creation and how it can contaminate—or heal—personal relationships.
Sorogoyen has admitted that he dreamed of being in the official selection at Cannes even before the Oscars. For him, this selection “demonstrates the quality and interest in Spanish cinema” and confirms that the national film industry is going through “a phenomenal moment.” The director explained that he had known about the festival's decision for weeks, although he was asked to remain discreet until the official announcement, and he emphasized the importance of enjoy your time in Cannes as a natural part of the life of films.
The film "The Loved One" is scheduled for release in Spanish cinemas at the end of August, so the Cannes screening will serve as its international premiere and media showcase. The combination of such an intimate theme, a top-tier cast, and Sorogoyen's distinctive visual style position it as one of the European films to watch at this year's festival.
"The black ball": the Javis' breakthrough into the Cannes elite
The third piece of this historic Spanish triangle is The black ballThe second feature film by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, popularly known as Los Javis. For them, this selection represents a direct leap to the festival's top category without having previously gone through parallel sections, something unusual and which speaks to the international interest their films generate.
The film intertwines the lives of three men in different eras—1932, 1937, and the present day—united by sexuality, desire, pain, and emotional inheritance. The project is inspired by one of Federico García Lorca's unfinished works and reinterprets that material from a... contemporary and queer perspective to Spanish history, without renouncing the influence of classic cinema that its directors so strongly advocate.
The cast boasts names like Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close, Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Lola Dueñas, and Milo Quesada, underscoring the project's international scope. Guitarricadelafuente's participation as the lead also marks his foray into film acting, adding an extra element of intrigue for audiences.
Los Javis explained that they received the news via an email from Thierry Frémaux himself, in which he praised the film's staging, cinematography, and direction. They themselves describe La bola negra as a "very powerful" work in which they paid special attention to its formal development compared to their feature film debut and their television work, with series such as La mesías, which was a phenomenon in France thanks to its broadcast on the Arte channel.
In addition to the individual achievement, Calvo and Ambrossi emphasize the collective significance of this “Historic triple” for Spanish cinemaIn his opinion, one of the strengths of the sector is precisely the diversity of origins and trajectories, as it is a "free and wild" industry in which a homogeneous model of studies is not followed, which allows for the emergence of very unique proposals.
Victoria Luengo, the Spanish double on the red carpet
Amidst this Spanish prominence, there is one name that is repeated in two of the films in competition: Victoria LuengoThe actress, known for television work such as Riot Police or The Red Queen, is part of the cast of Bitter Christmas and at the same time co-stars in The Beloved.
Her presence in two films vying for the Palme d'Or at the same festival places her in an unusual position for a Spanish actress at Cannes. In Bitter Christmas, Luengo moves within the emotional universe created by Almodóvar, while in Sorogoyen's film she takes on the challenge of portraying an actress who confronts her own father, an established director, both professionally and personally.
This double win also reflects how Spanish acting talent is making its way into major European auteur productions. Luengo is not the only one: other sections of the festival feature names like Itsaso Arana or Luis Tosar in international co-productions, which reinforces the idea of a particularly fertile time for national actors and actresses.
For Cannes, the combination of a world-renowned director like Almodóvar, a filmmaker in the midst of European consolidation like Sorogoyen, and an emerging creative duo with a strong authorial identity like the Javis, is complemented precisely by faces like Luengo's, capable of traversing these different universes without losing their own personality.
Spain, a powerhouse of auteur cinema in a very European edition
The context in which these three Spanish films land speaks of a festival strongly focused on European and Asian auteur cinemaFrance, as host country, leads the number of titles in competition with names like Léa Mysius (Histoires de la nuit), Arthur Harari (L'Inconnue), Jeanne Herry (Garance), and Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet (La vie d'une femme). These are joined by projects filmed in French by foreign filmmakers, such as Asghar Farhadi with Histoires parallèles and the Belgian Lukas Dhont with Coward.
Japan shares second place with Spain in terms of the number of films in the official selection, with prestigious directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda (Sheep in the Box), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Sudden), and Kôji Fukada (Nagi Notes), in addition to Na Hong-jin's Hope, also within the Asian sphere. The selection is rounded out by familiar faces at Cannes, including Romanian director Cristian Mungiu (Fjord), Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski (Fatherland), Hungarian director László Nemes (Moulin), and Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, who returns with Minotaur after a serious health issue and his subsequent exile in France.
In this scenario, the trio of Amarga Navidad, El ser querido and La bola negra places Spain in the group of countries with the greatest weight in the competitionboth in terms of the number of films produced and the prominence of its filmmakers. In fact, Frémaux has pointed out that our country has become one of the most dynamic centers of auteur cinema in Europe, thanks to a combination of emerging talent, established directors, and increasingly robust co-production structures.
The official opening will be the French production *La Vénus électrique*, by Pierre Salvadori, while the Official Selection jury will be presided over by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wok. Among the major international figures expected for this edition are the recipients of the Palme d'Or, which will be awarded to Peter Jackson and Barbra Streisand, as well as the presence of John Travolta, who will present his directorial debut, *Propeller One-Way Night Coach*, out of competition.
Beyond the competition: co-productions and Spanish presence in "Un Certain Regard"
The impact of Spanish cinema at Cannes is not limited to the Official Selection. In the parallel section Uncertain regardDedicated to first and second films with more daring proposals, the name of Spain appears associated with several co-productions that reinforce the idea of an industry open to working together with other countries.
Among them is "The Sweetest," by Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi, a story that follows a group of seasonal women who leave Morocco to pick strawberries in Huelva, Spain. What initially appears to be an economic opportunity soon clashes with a reality marked by abuse, harassment, and... undignified working conditionsThe protagonists decide to stand up to their exploiters with the help of Pilar, a Spanish lawyer, in a story that focuses on migrant exploitation in southern Europe.
The Sweetest is a co-production between Morocco, France, Belgium, and Spain, and features Spanish actress Itsaso Arana in the cast. It's a clear example of how co-productions allow for the exploration of local themes with a distinctly international appeal, something Cannes often values in its programming.
Also in Un Certain Regard is The Melting, by Chilean director Manuela Martelli, a co-production between Chile, Argentina, France, and Spain. Set in Chile in 1992, it follows Inés, a ten-year-old girl who spends the summer at her grandparents' hotel near a ski resort. There she meets Hanna, a teenage Swedish skier who becomes her platonic love, until one night the young woman disappears. mysterious circumstancesThe film features Luis Tosar and is backed by production companies linked to recent Spanish auteur cinema.
These presences in the parallel section add to the prominence in competition and help to paint a picture in which Spain occupies a relevant place not only for its own titles, but also for its ability to collaborate in international projects with a critical perspective and a festival circuit vocation.
At the same time, the programming brings back to the forefront the unresolved issue of the gender parity in the Official Selection. Although the number of female directors in Un Certain Regard is notable, only five women appear among the 21 names initially announced in the main competition. These include European directors Léa Mysius, Jeanne Herry, Marie Kreutzer, Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, and German director Valeska Grisebach, who presents The Dreamed Adventure.
A golden moment for Spanish cinema
What will unfold on the Croisette this May is more than just the coincidence of three Spanish films at one of the world's most influential festivals. It's the culmination of a process that has been brewing for years and has recently reached milestones with films like Carla Simón's Romería and Oliver Laxe's Sirat, both of which have enjoyed significant international success.
Now, the qualitative leap is spearheaded by three distinct perspectives on auteur cinema: that of an established creator such as Pedro Almodóvar, who returns to his obsessions from a more intimate perspective; that of Rodrigo Sorogoyen, who consolidates his place in the European elite by exploring the tension between the personal and the professional; and that of the Javis, who burst onto the scene with an ambitious queer story about memory, desire and identity, interwoven with the figure of Lorca.
Around them, a constellation of performers—Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close, Victoria Luengo, Guitarricadelafuente, Milena Smit, Bárbara Lennie, among many others—and a network of co-productions solidify the impression that Spanish cinema has gone from being an occasional presence to becoming recurring protagonist of the international conversation.
Whether or not the Palme d'Or ultimately goes to Spain is of little importance in the short term; what is relevant is that, in an edition dominated by big names in European and Asian auteur cinema, the Spanish industry is taking center stage with three strong, varied and recognizable films, confirming that the "good health" that Thierry Frémaux speaks of is not just a slogan, but a reality that can be seen on screen.
