Diverse New Films, Award Contenders Hit Cinemas Friday

This Friday, cinemas are rolling out a fresh and varied selection of films. The new releases include everything from Spanish independent movies to big international productions, with several titles that have already made a splash during awards season.

First up for Spanish films is El fantasma de mi mujer, a dark comedy from director María Ripoll. Starring Javier Rey, Loreto Mauleón, María Hervás, and Macarena Gómez, it's about a man who starts seeing his wife everywhere after covering up her accidental death, caused by his lover.

Also debuting is Pedro Cenjor's La boda, an intimate drama. Elena Furiase, Daniel Chamorro, and Margarita Lascorki star in this story of Felisa, who, relying on her mother's pension, agrees to marry a client's son. Their honeymoon in Motril ends up changing their lives.

Finally, Fernando Trullols brings us his first feature film, Balandrau, viento salvaje. This film recreates the real-life ordeal of mountaineers caught in a terrible snowstorm in the Catalan Pyrenees in 2000. That event shocked Spain and led to changes in mountain rescue procedures. Álvaro Cervantes, Bruna Cusí, and Marc Martínez lead the cast in this movie, which is based on Jordi Cruz's book.

On the international front, catch Greenland 2, the sequel directed by Ric Roman Waugh. Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, and Roman Griffin Davis return as the Garrity family. Five years after surviving in a Greenland bunker, they must flee again in a post-apocalyptic world, searching for a safe place to live in Europe while battling natural disasters and dangerous survivors.

Among the new releases are two films with Academy Award nominations. El agente secreto, from acclaimed director Kleber Mendonça Filho, is an intense drama and political thriller set in Brazil in 1977 during the military dictatorship. Starring Wagner Moura, it earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best International Feature Film.

Families can enjoy Little Amélie, the first film from Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, which is nominated for Best Animated Feature Film. Inspired by writer Amélie Nothomb's childhood, it tells the story of a Belgian girl discovering Japan in the 1970s.

For fans of genre films, there's La maldición de Shelby Oaks. This chilling debut from film critic and YouTuber Chris Stuckmann, produced by Mike Flanagan, opened the Panorama Section of the Sitges Festival. It follows a woman desperately searching for her missing sister, uncovering that the childhood demon that haunted them was real.

Also out is Sin conexión, directed and produced by Bradley Cooper, who also has a supporting role. Loosely based on the life of British comedian John Bishop, the film looks at the quiet breakdown of a middle-aged marriage. Will Arnett plays Alex, who tries to find himself through stand-up comedy in New York, while Laura Dern plays Tess, whose life has been shaped by family sacrifices.