La Mirada Spanish Film Festival

Where: Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth
When: 5pm Thursday 29 May

Spanish thrillers, animations and a focus on the work of luminous Spanish actress Maribel Verdú will be featured in the 11th Spanish Film Festival, traveling nationally throughout May.

CINE FANTÁSTICO is a program of nail-biting thrillers, black comedy & horror films that will keep you on the edge of your seat while ANÍMATE! (which translates loosely as Cheer Up!) is a program of animated short and feature films to put a smile on your face!

The program of films featuring Maribel Verdú is headlined by Siete mesas de billar francés (Seven Billiards Tables), nominated for 10 Goya Awards and 8 CEC (Spanish Critics Association) Awards including Best Actress. The film is directed by Gracia Querejeta, daughter of acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Elias Querejeta, the subject of last year’s Spanish Film Festival Focus.

Verdú, star of more than 50 films, is best known to Australian audiences for her role as Luisa in Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también (And Your Mother Too), as Mercedes in Guillermo del Toro's 2006 film Pan's Labyrinth and for her role as Rocio in Fernando Trueba’s 1992 film Belle Epoque which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Verdú’s first role was aged 13 in El crimen del capitán Sánchez, alongside Spanish star Victoria Abril. She has worked with some of the most respected Spanish directors including Carlos Saura, Gonzalo Suárez, Vicente Aranda, Gerardo Vera, Montxo Armendáriz, Ricardo Franco and Mario Camus.

It's on in these cities on these dates:

Sydney: 7-18 May at Palace Academy Twin & Palace Norton St
Canberra: 7-11 May at Dendy Canberra
Melbourne: 14-25 May at Palace Como & Palace Westgarth
Brisbane: 21-25 May at Palace Centro
Perth: 22-28 May at Cinema Paradiso