The 10th Spanish Film Festival was officially opened at the Zhovten cinema. This year, the film event is taking place in two cities: in Kyiv from 11 to 16 September, and in Lviv from 13 to 16 October at the Planeta Kino cinema (Forum Lviv shopping centre). This was reported by Arthouse Traffic on its website.
Viewers will be able to see a variety of Spanish films of the year, from sensitive melodramas and adult comedies to crime thrillers, fantasy family comedies, and historical adventure dramas. The festival is organised by the Spanish Embassy in Ukraine and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in partnership with the film company Arthouse Traffic.
During the opening ceremony, Ricardo López-Aranda Jagu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Spain to Ukraine, addressed the guests:
“Russia’s current aggression is not only an attack on the Ukrainian people and state, but also an attack on Ukrainian culture. All our joint projects and cooperation are a testament to your courage, your resistance and your recovery. Spain is helping Ukraine not only in the military and economic spheres, but also actively cooperating in the field of culture — and will continue to do so. We are building bridges between our countries, and events such as the Spanish Film Festival help to develop ties in various areas of the cultural sector.”
The opening film was the melodrama Deaf, winner of the Berlinale and triumphant at the Malaga Film Festival, where it won five awards, including Best Film. It was also recognised at festivals in Seattle, Brussels and Guadalajara, and made it into Letterboxd’s top 50 films of 2025. Eva Libertad’s film tells the story of a deaf woman who, after becoming a mother, goes through a difficult journey of challenges and self-acceptance. Blogger and actor Hryhoriy Fesenko from The Tribe became the ambassador for the release, which will hit cinemas on 25 September.
In total, the festival programme included five films:
- Deaf, directed by Eva Libertad
- ¡Salta!, directed by Olga Osorio
- Undercover, directed by Arancha Echevarría
- The People Upstairs, directed by Cesc Gay
- The Captive, directed by Alejandro Amenábar