The 21^ST Week of Spanish and Iberoamerican cinema opened on June 11, as always at the National Palace of Culture’s Lumiere cinema in Sofia. As every year it is organized by the Spanish embassy in Bulgaria, alongside the embassies of Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Peru, as well as the Honorary Consulates of Columbia, Ecuador and Chile with the support of the Cervantes Institute and the Spanish embassy’s education office.

At the event’s opening, Spain’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, His Excellency Jose Luis Tapia said: “With a lot of time and effort, the Week earned a place of honour in Sofia’s cultural programme. This was made possible with the support of my friends, the ambassadors of the other Hispanic countries in Bulgaria. It has been a pleasure to see more and more countries joining our efforts year after year. And it is an honour for me to welcome another new friend – Brazil.”

The opening of the Week of Spanish and Iberoamerican cinema was attended also by the Ambassador of Ecuador to Bulgaria, His Excellency Jaime Barberis Martinez, who is posted in Budapest, Hungary but said he had combined his official meetings in Sofia with the start of the cinema week. He presented, briefly, the film from Ecuador taking part in the forum:

“Ecuador is taking part with So Far Away, a movie by young film director Tania Hermida. The movie tells the story of a tourist from Spain and a girl from Ecuador and what makes it so enjoyable is that it presents Ecuador, which is among the 17 most diverse countries in the world. The country has four regions: the Galapagos islands, the coastline, the Andes and part of the Amazon rainforest.”

The Bulgarian public visiting the event are most diverse, so the question arises: do viewers in Bulgaria take to films from Spain and Latin America and what is it that intrigues them? Radio Bulgaria’s Hristina Tasseva talked to several of the viewers:

Violeta Petkova, a recent graduate of Spanish language and literature at the St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia:

“I have been going to the Week of Spanish and Iberoamerican cinema for the past 5-6 years, primarily because I am a student of the Spanish language and culture. Every year I have found the selection of films most diverse and this year too, I am expecting to see movies that are well worth seeing. Latin American films are not so commercial; another thing is that I enjoy the opportunity of hearing Spanish spoken in all of its varieties.”

“To my mind Spanish films are much deeper, more meaningful and human. That is the difference between European and American cinema, and that is why I am so eager to watch them,” says a lady from Sofia.

“I have been to Film Week many times, I started coming 10 years ago when I was still at school. Last year I saw a Spanish comedy about the crisis in Europe that was fantastic. Spanish cinema is wonderful and has left its mark in the history of film-making thanks to Spain;s great film directors,” says Milena Kaleva, a graduate of the Sofia National Academy for Theatre and Film Art.

Donka, also from Sofia, says:

“This is a culture I find most interesting. The film week offers a look at Latin American cinema, which is not very popular in Bulgaria.”

Ass. Prof. Petar Mollov from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at Sofia University goes to the Week of Spanish and Iberoamerican cinema every year:

“I always enjoy myself at this forum and the films get more and more interesting every time. Spanish cinema is definitely different, very provocative compared to French, British or German movies, for example.”

The Week of Spanish and Iberoamerican cinema opened with the film Living is easy with eyes closed and will close on June 15 with another Spanish movie – A gun in each hand.

English: Milena Daynova