Strong showing by Spanish cinema at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which extends to the industrial side of the event with the Co-Production Night event, promoted by ICEX and ICAA.

The Official In Competition category welcomes Albert Serra's film “Tourment Sur Les îles” (“Bora Bora Bora”), produced by Spain's Anderground Films with France’s Idéale Audience Group, Portugal's Rosa Filmes, and Germany’s Tamtam Film, in co-production with Arte France Cinéma, BR/ARTE, and Archipel Production.

Since Pedro Almodóvar (with “Broken Embraces”) and Isabel Coixet (with “Map of the Sounds of Tokyo”) competed for the Palme d'Or in 2009, no other Spanish filmmaker had competed for the Palme d'Or until this year’s event.

The Catalan director will step on the red carpet at Cannes for the third time after presenting “The Death of Louis XIV” in 2016 as a special screening, and “Liberté” in 2019, with which he won the special jury prize in the Un Certain Regard category.

“El agua,” the debut feature film by Elena López Riera, will participate in the Directors' Fortnight category. It is Luna Pamies' debut as an actress, accompanied by Bárbara Lennie and Nieve de Medina.

This co-production by Spain's Suica Films with Alina Film (Switzerland) and Les Films du Worso (France), has the support of the Institut Valencià de Cultura and the ICAA, as well as the participation of RTVE and À Punt Mèdia.

López Riera boasts an established career as a short filmmaker. Her first short film, “Pueblo” (2015), premiered in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight category, while “Las visceras” (2016) premiered at the Locarno Festival. Her most recent work, “Los que desean” (2018), won the Pardino d'Oro at Locarno, among other awards.

“As Bestas” world premiere

“As Bestas,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen's highly anticipated new film, will have its world premiere as part of the Cannes Première Official Selection.

The film, shot in rural areas of El Bierzo and Galicia, in Spanish, French, and Galician, is another co-production by Spanish companies Arcadia Motion Pictures, Caballo Films, and Cronos Entertainment alongside French company Le Pacte, with the participation of RTVE, Movistar Plus, Canal Plus, and Cine Plus, the support of Eurimages, and funding by ICAA, ICEC, and CAM. Latido Films is in charge of international sales.

Sorogoyen, winner of the Goya Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay with Isabel Peña for “The Realm,” Silver Shell at San Sebastian for Best Screenplay, again with Isabel Peña, for “May God Save Us,” was nominated for an Oscar for the short film "Madre" and has made a successful debut in television fiction with the Movistar Plus series “Antidisturbios.”

According to the producers of “As Bestas,” “it is an honor to work with Rodrigo Sorogoyen and Isabel Peña. As producers, we seek to get involved in films that, in addition to having a clear authorial vision, have the vocation to reach the general public, as well as the capacity to reach the international market. We want to make films that won’t be forgotten, and we believe that “As Bestas” has the potential to become one of them.”

In Cannes Classics, a section dedicated to the presentation of restored copies of important films from the history of cinema, José Luis López Linares' documentary “L’ombre de Goya par Jean-Claude Carrière,” a co-production between France (Mondex et Cie), Spain (Lopezlifilms, Zampa Audiovisual), and Portugal (Fado Filmes) will be screened with the support of Eurimages, Cine Plus, Amis du Louvre, RTVE, ICAA, and RTP.

In addition, two Spanish short films will compete in the Critics' Week: “Cuerdas,” by Estíbaliz Urresola, who is already preparing her feature debut with “20,000 species of bees” and “No logré amarla,” by Anna Fernández de Paco, a co-production between Spain, Bosnia, and the United Kingdom.

 On the industrial side, ICEX and ICAA are organizing the Co-Production Night event within the framework of the Marché du Film, which aims to promote international co-production, facilitating networking among professionals with projects in search of partners. The event, scheduled for Friday, May 20, will focus on co-production projects to be presented by Spanish companies Quatre Films Audiovisuales, Un Capricho de Producciones, Potenza Producciones, Aquí y Allí Films, and Solita Films.

The 75th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival will be held from May 17 to 28.