Made in Spain is one of the non-competitive sections of the international film festival held annually in the Basque city of San Sebastián.
Among the films showcased is ‘Uma Quinta Portuguesa’ – currently screening in Portuguese cinemas – a co-production between Portugal and Spain, directed by Avelina Prat and starring Manolo Solo, Maria de Medeiros, and Branka Katic.
The narrative revolves around Fernando, a peaceful geography teacher who is left shattered by the disappearance of his wife.
Feeling adrift, Fernando assumes the identity of a gardener at a Portuguese estate, where he begins to work, forms a friendship with the owner, and starts living a life that isn’t his own.
The film was shot at Quinta da Aldeia in Ponte de Lima and premiered at the 2025 Málaga Film Festival, featuring Rita Cabaço, Rui Morrison, and Luísa Cruz among the cast.
Another Portuguese and Spanish co-production is ‘San Simón’, by Miguel Ángel Delgado, featuring performances by Flako Estévez, Alexandro Bouzó, Guillermo Queiro, Ana Fontenla, Maria del Carmen Jorge Veiga, Manuel F. Landeiro, Lucía Amarelle Torrado, Javier Varela, Tatán, Darío Fernández Raposo, Andrés Giráldez, Miguel Borines, and Nuno Preto.
The film, marking the fiction debut of visual artist Miguel Ángel, recreates the past of this island as a concentration camp during several years since the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, when the Franco regime transformed the old lazaretto into a place of death, where prisoners suffered repression amidst breathtaking beauty.
Made in Spain will also feature two productions that competed in the latest edition of the Cannes Festival: ‘Sirat’, currently showing in Portugal, with which director Oliver Laxe won the Jury Prize ‘ex-aequo’, and ‘Romería’, by Carla Simón, which also vied for the Palme d’Or.
‘Sorda’, by Eva Libertad, had its world premiere in the Berlinale Panorama section, winning the Audience Award, a distinction also received at the Málaga Festival, along with the Golden Biznaga for best film and acting awards.
‘Los tortuga’, by Belén Funes, premiered at the Toronto Festival and later won in Málaga the Special Jury Prize and awards for best direction and best screenplay for the filmmaker.
The non-competitive section of the festival will also include three works from the documentary section of the Málaga Festival: ‘The Sleeper. El Caravaggio perdido’, by Álvaro Longoria; ‘Un hombre libré’, by Laura Hojman, and ‘Almudena’ (the writer Almudena Grandes), by Azucena Rodríguez.
Made in Spain will also revisit one of last year’s major commercial successes, ‘La infiltrada’, with which Arantxa Echevarría received 13 nominations for the Goya Awards, winning in the categories of best film and best lead actress.
