Spanish and Latin American Film Festival announces sizzling 2026 program
The 2026 HSBC Spanish and Latin American Film Festival has revealed a taste of its 29th edition as the festival returns to Palace Cinemas Raine Square, Luna Leederville and Luna on SX from Thursday, June 11, to Wednesday, July 1.
Showcasing a sensational selection of contemporary cinema from Spain and Latin America, this year’s program includes an award-winning drama, a rom-com starring one of the most well-known Latin American actors, a historical epic, a salsa documentary and more.
Coming up first is an intimate and charming love story set against the backdrop of a corporate crisis. Nothing Between Us (Nada entre los dos) stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Natalie Oreiro, from Argentina and Uruguay, depicting two colleagues at a conference at a beach resort in Mexico, faced with the fragile balance between personal freedom and social expectations.
For 2026, the festival’s centrepiece is the highly awarded Spanish box office hit Sundays (Los domingos) from writer/director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa. This quietly spellbinding drama explores a family in crisis after their 17-year-old daughter defies expectations and declares that she is choosing the life of a cloistered nun.
From award-winning director Alejandro Amenábar comes the epic historical adventure The Captive (El cautivo), this year’s Festival Special Presentation. The thrilling drama stars Julio Peña (Through My Window) and Alessandro Borghi (The Eight Mountains), following a young Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, who finds an unexpected refuge in the art of storytelling while imprisoned in 16th-century Algiers.
Coming next is La Salsa Vive, a vivid documentary from Colombia and the USA via Havana, telling the story of two cities bound by the rhythm of salsa. From New York City, where the genre was born in the 1970s, to Cali, Colombia, the self-proclaimed “world capital of Salsa”, where it thrives with passion. The genre’s evolution is an illuminating journey of cultural heritage, music and dance, much like the global 1990s hit The Buena Vista Social Club.
Direct from the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival comes Brazilian film Isabel. An intoxicating drama, it follows talented sommelier Isabel (Marina Person, who also co-wrote the script) in São Paulo’s fine-dining scene, who dreams of opening her own wine bar away from her controlling boss. However, she must balance following her passion with the realities of opening a business.
In a feel-good origins tale inspired by true events, Another League (Pioneras: solo querían jugar) tells the story of a group of girls in the early 1970s who decide to play football in a country that does not see a place for them in the sport. Through the many challenges they face, they meet an ambitious promoter who is determined to change the story of women’s football in Spain.
Not forgetting families and schools, there is the charming family comedy and Spanish box office hit My Amazing Grandma (Abuela Tremenda). Contrasting overprotective parents with the wild and carefree energy of a mischievous grandmother, three generations of women experience hilarious disasters at a rural farm. Fun is guaranteed in Bear Claw Camp (Campamento Garra de Oso), in which two nine-year-olds race against time to save their summer camp, combining live action and animation for an exciting adventure about the power of friendship and teamwork.
The 2026 HSBC Spanish & Latin American Film Festival hits Palace Cinemas, Luna Leederville and Luna on SX from Thursday, June 11, to Wednesday, July 1, 2026. The full program will be announced and tickets go on sale in mid-May at spanishfilmfestival.com