Our monthly focus in January is on Spain as a film country - time and again, outstanding films find their way into German cinemas. We bring together current Spanish productions of various genres, from the idiosyncratic romantic comedy to the unconventional family drama to the Almodóvar-produced visionary desert trip, from flamenco to bullfighting.

TARDES DE SOLEDAD - AFTERNOONS OF LONELINESS

ESP/FRA/PRT 2024. dir: Albert Serra. Documentary. 131 min. spanOmdtU. FSK: 16

Albert Serra accompanies the Peruvian star matador Andrés Roca Rey from one Spanish bullfighting arena to the next: the bloody business requires maximum concentration from the 28-year-old, from dressing in the hotel room to traditional movements in front of the irritated bull to the final death blow. Albert Serra documents the controversial spectacle with sober, haunting images, creating a radical portrait between documentary and art film - awarded Best Film at the San Sebastián Festival. "A monumental, precious, precise, brutal, heartbreaking, tragic, beautiful and in every way unique film." (El Mundo) - "A milestone in Spanish cinema. It captures what has never been seen before."