Spanish cinema will make history at the next edition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it will have three films in the official competition: Amarga Navidad, by Pedro Almodóvar, La bola negra, by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, known as Los Javis, and El ser querido, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. After last year's double win with films by Carla Simón and Oliver Laxe in competition, this historic trio confirms an unprecedented trend at a festival traditionally wary of Spanish cinema. Their rivals for the Palme d'Or will include, among others, new films by such established directors as Ryusuke Hamaguchi, László Nemes, Asghar Farhadi, Pawel Pawlikowski, and two directors who have already triumphed at Cannes: Hirokazu Kore-eda and Cristian Mungiu.

Spanish cinema will make history at the next edition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it will have three films in the official competition: Amarga Navidad, by Pedro Almodóvar; La bola negra, by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, known as Los Javis, and El ser querido, by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. After last year's double feature with films by Carla Simón and Oliver Laxe in competition, this historic trio confirms an unprecedented trend at a festival traditionally wary of Spanish cinema. Their rivals for the Palme d'Or will include, among others, new films by such established auteurs as Ryusuke Hamaguchi, László Nemes, Asghar Farhadi, Paweł Pawlikowski, and two directors who have already triumphed at Cannes: Hirokazu Kore-eda and Cristian Mungiu.

Working with Pedro Almodóvar for the first time is always a milestone for any actor, a turning point that can define a career. Some experience it as a trial by fire, perhaps recalling Jorge Sanz's ordeal, who was fired from Tremulous flesh (1997) after a week of filming because he didn't get along with the man from La Mancha, who replaced him with Liberto Rabal. Victoria LuengoThe first contact with the director was in The room next doorIt was a good experience, she explains, but only two days of filming and a very small role. "You feel a mixture of nerves, excitement, fear, and responsibility... But in such a short time it's difficult, because you don't yet know the crew or the tone of the film, and besides, it was a role in English."

The new movie by Pedro Almodóvar connects with Pain and Glory (2019) in its autobiographical inspiration. We find ourselves once again with a film featuring a director as the protagonist, although here in a dual role. Barbara Lennie She embodies Elsa, a cult filmmaker, a migraine sufferer, and haunted by her mother's death. This character, in a story within a story, is at the heart of a new screenplay being written by a filmmaker named Raúl, played by Leonardo Sbaraglia. In the film's first part, Almodóvar revels in his familiar imagery without injecting any new energy, and doubts arise from the images. Is the director from La Mancha aware that the reflection of himself shown to us by Elsa and Raúl isn't particularly flattering? Could there be a touch of artifice in his insistence on making Chavela Vargas a trigger for emotion? How is it that the best sequence in this segment is a striptease The male lead, directed by Patrick Criado, reminds us of Almodóvar's torrid early work? And is he clear that he's portraying his partner first as a pure object of desire and then (in the skin of Quim Gutiérrez) as a mere caregiver?

Chije Kang is an architect and cinematographer from Figueres with a distinguished international career. Born in Figueres in the 1990s to a Korean family, when Asian immigration was virtually nonexistent in the Empordà region, she has forged a talented and passionate creative path, working in both photography and filmmaking. After training in Barcelona, ​​she now lives in New York, where she combines prestigious architectural commissions, primarily focused on interior design, with audiovisual projects in independent film, advertising, and contemporary art. Two years ago, she participated in the film The room next door by Pedro AlmodóvarAs assistant to Barcelona-based cinematographer Edu Grau, with whom she won the Goya Award in 2025, Kang, perfectly integrated into the artistic and social bustle of New York City, maintains strong ties to Figueres and its surroundings, where her family and the Empordà landscape continue to inspire her in every project.

The day after opening the Venice Film Festival with Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers), Pedro Almodóvar (Calzada de Calatrava, 1949) explains to ARA details about the humanist aspect and the sober tone of this melodrama in which he deals with the drama of the relatives of the victims who disappeared during the Civil War.