5th Tenerife Spanish Film Showcase Honors Mercedes Sampietro

The 5th Tenerife Spanish Film Showcase will take place from December 11 to 14. This year, it will honor Mercedes Sampietro as its special guest, and also feature appearances by Fernando Colomo, Carlos Iglesias, and Eloísa Vargas.

Organized by the Charlas de Cine Cultural Association, the University of La Laguna (ULL), and Alda Producciones, the event will present a mix of new films, classic Spanish cinema, and talks with the filmmakers and actors.

The La Laguna City Council's Department of Culture, along with the Canary Institute for Cultural Development and Canary Islands Film (part of the regional government), are sponsoring the showcase. All activities are free to attend, held at Multicines Tenerife in the Alcampo Shopping Center, La Laguna, until the venue is full. This year's showcase is also part of the ULL's "For Freedom, Spain after 1975" program.

Actor and director Carlos Iglesias will be featured twice. The showcase opens on Thursday, December 11, at 7:00 PM, with Un franco, 14 pesetas (2017). This film, his first as a director, is known for depicting Spanish emigration in the 1960s. On Friday, December 12, at 7:00 PM, Iglesias will present La bala (2025), an emotional thriller exploring historical memory. After both screenings, he will discuss why it's important to pass history on to new generations.

Eloísa Vargas, who co-stars in La bala, will join Iglesias. She will talk about her experience creating characters for historical stories and her artistic process in this latest film.

Fernando Colomo, a key figure in Spanish comedy and modern cinema since the late 1970s, will also be present. On Saturday, December 13, his film Los años bárbaros (1998) will be shown at 12:30 PM. Later that day, at 7:00 PM, attendees can see his most recent work, Las delicias del jardín (2025). Following both screenings, Colomo will discuss his filmmaking insights and how Spanish cinema has changed over time.

Mercedes Sampietro is the main guest of honor this year. She won a Goya Award for Lugares comunes (2002) and has been recognized at major festivals like San Sebastián, Moscow, and Sitges, establishing her as a leading voice in contemporary Spanish cinema. Her extensive career in theater, film, and voice acting will be explored in a discussion on Sunday, December 14, starting at 7:00 PM, following a screening of Lugares comunes.

The program also includes two short films from the Canary Islands: La paciente desconocida de Freud (2025), which Antonia San Juan stars in, directed, and co-wrote with Enrique Gallego; and Las cosas queridas (2022), directed by Pablo Vilas and starring Mingo Ruano and Aranza Coello.