Book film tickets: ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival at HOME

After another successful outing last year, ¡Viva! once again returns to HOME. However, differing from previous years, this year’s celebrations will also commemorate the 40th anniversary of the abolishment of censorship in Spain. Focusing on the film side of the festival (there are theatre and art strands too), 29 films and 15 UK premieres will be screened across 18 days from countries like Chile, Colombia, Mexica, et al. ¡Viva! opens with Cien años de perdón (To Steal from a Thief) along with a special Q&A on the Friday night (Fri 31 Mar, Mon 3 Apr). Amongst the busy schedule of premieres, talks surrounding the Transition in Spain and Spanish Cinema with Professor Rob Stone (Sat 1 Apr) and one-hour introduction into the Transition in Spain into Democracy through film with Dr Andy Willis from the University of Salford, alongside Dr Carmen Herrero from Manchester Metropolitan University (Wed 5 Apr) will work as a soothing antidote to the exciting schedule. Further Q+A’s include Pasaje de vida (Safe Passage) (Sun 2 Apr) with director Diego Corsini, La Puerta abierta (The Open Door) + La Boda (Tue 4 Apr) with director Marina Seresesky and producer Álvaro Lavín. Lastly, closing out ¡Viva! is Eloy de la Iglesia’s 1983 neo-realist  El Pico (Overdose). Accompanying these screenings, right across the festival, Spanish-based drinks and foods will be served to get you into the head space of Spanish life and culture.

Fri 31 Mar – Mon 17 Apr HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, First Street, Manchester M15 4FN. Tel: 0161 200 2500, times and price vary, www.homemcr.org