20/04/2005

Some recent feature films and documentaries produced in Portugal and Spain are currently being shown in the FestIberian 05, which takes place in the Dutch city of Delft until April 25. Entirely organized by a team of motivated volunteers working for the Filmhuis Lunen, the non-competitive event is an occasion to discover productions usually unexplored in the Netherlands.
The Portuguese selection includes films such as The Murmuring Coast, a colonial war story directed by Margarida Cardoso based on a novel by Lídia Jorge, Leonel Viera's Amazonian drama A Selva and João César Monteiro's final opus Vai e Vem.
The Spanish menu presents some mainstream titles such as Daniela Fejerman's sex comedy My Mother Likes Women starring Leonor Watling and Rosa María Sardà as well as Carlos Saura's latest film, The Seventh Day with Victoria Abril and Juan Diego.

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The most awaited Spanish film though is Pelota Vasca, the documentary directed by Julio Medem, that made a splash in the San Sebastian Film Festival. Shot in the final year of Aznar's government, the film portrayals the violence in the Basque Country through interviews with terrorists, relatives of the victims, politicians and intellectuals. The great absents were the members of Aznar's Popular Party, who refused to reveal their positions to Medem's camera. Pelota Vasca might not be the film we expected from Medem, after Lucía y el Sexo, but it definitely proves the versatility and talent of the 47 year old director.
The full programme can be found on the website of the festival.