VICTOR ERICE RETROSPECTIVE

VICTOR ERICE RETROSPECTIVE

CEAU, CINEMA! – COOL-DOWN
SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2024
VICTORIA CINEMA, TIMISOARA

The great Spanish filmmaker Victor Erice is celebrated in Timisoara through a retrospective of all his four feature films, organized by the Ceau, Cinema! Festival, in partnership with the Spanish Embassy and the Cervantes Institute.

The retrospective includes the director’s latest film, the highly acclaimed “Close Your Eyes” (“Cerrar los ojos”, 2023), which meant for Victor Erice the return to directing after 30 years, but also his three classic films, “The Spirit of the Beehive” (“El espíritu de la colmena”, 1973), “The South” (“El sur”, 1983) and “Dream of Light” (“El sol del membrillo”,  1992). All four films were part of the Cannes Film Festival.

Born in 1940, Victor Erice is the author of a contemplative cinema, ambitious from an aesthetic point of view, but without being precious. His favorite themes are the universe of childhood and cinema as a parallel world, magical, but as real as reality itself.

Ceau, Cinema! is a festival dedicated to European film, organized by the Pelicula Culturala Association.

The project is part of the national cultural program “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023” and is financed through the Legacy Timișoara 2023 program, carried out by the Project Center of the Municipality of Timișoara, with amounts allocated from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Culture.

Organizers of the retrospective: Pelicula Culturala, Embassy of Spain, Cervantes Institute.

Partner: Victoria Cinema.

Sponsors: Groupama Asigurari, Vitas Romania.

CLOSE YOUR EYES / CERRAR LOS OJOS

Director: Victor Erice

Cast: Manolo Solo, José Coronado, Ana Torrent

Drama – Spain, Argentina – 2023 – 2h 49min       +12

Language: Spanish, Catalan, French, English, Chinese

Subtitles: Romanian, English

Synopsis

A Spanish actor disappears during the filming of a movie. Although his body is never found, the police conclude that he has suffered an accident at the edge of a cliff. Many years later, the mystery returns to the present day.

Festivals and Awards: Cannes 2023 – Cannes Premiere, Goya 2024 – Best Supporting Actor Award and ten other nominations

Saturday, September 28, 2024, 7.30 p.m.

Victoria Cinema, Timisoara

THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE / EL ESPIRITU DE LA COLMENA

Director: Victor Erice

Cast: Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent

Drama – Spain – 1973 – 1h 38min       +12

Language: Spanish

Subtitles: Romanian, English

Synopsis

In 1940, after watching and being traumatized by the movie Frankenstein (1931), a sensitive seven-year-old girl living in a small Spanish village drifts into her own fantasy world. 

Festivals and Awards: San Sebastián 1973 – Golden Shell Award, Chicago 1973, Cannes 1974

Saturday, October 5, 2024, 5.30 p.m.

Victoria Cinema, Timisoara

THE SOUTH / EL SUR

Director: Victor Erice

Cast: Omero Antonutti, Sonsoles Aranguren, Icíar Bollaín

Drama – Spain, France – 1983 – 1h 35min       +12

Language: Spanish

Subtitles: Romanian, English

Synopsis

A woman reflects on her childhood relationship with her father, attempting to understand the depths of his despair and the truth of his myths. 

Festivals and Awards: Cannes 1983, Chicago 1983 – Best Film Award

Saturday, October 12, 2024, 3.00 p.m.

Victoria Cinema, Timisoara

DREAM OF LIGHT / EL SOL DEL MEMBRILLO

Director: Victor Erice

Cast: Antonio López, María Moreno, Enrique Gran

Drama – Spain – 1992 – 2h 13min       +12

Language: Spanish, Polish, Mandarin

Subtitles: Romanian, English

Synopsis

The artist, Antonio Lopez, tries to paint the quince tree he planted some time back in his garden. Throughout his life, he has worked on the same theme many times, almost as if it were a physical necessity. Every year, with the arrival of autumn, this need resurfaces.

Festivals and Awards: Cannes 1992 – Jury Award şi FIPRESCI Award,  Locarno 1992, New York 1992, Chicago 1992 – Best Film Award

Saturday, October 26, 2024, 5.30 p.m.

Victoria Cinema, Timisoara