Spring Weekend, 13th edition

MATRIA

Matria
Ciné Lumière at the Institut Français

Screening courtesy of New Wave Films

£15, conc. £13

Dir. Alvaro Gago
with María Vázquez, Santi Prego, Tatán, Susana Sampedro

Spain | 2023 | 99 min
In Galician with English subtitles

Ramona lives in a Galician fishing village. She works in a canning factory, hardly speaks with her husband and her daughter, who has given her a grandchild is now ready to stand on her own. She lives life successfully, but the moment to make a change may have arrived.

María Vázquez offers a wonderful performance as Ramona, a strong and nuanced female lead, carrying the entire film on her shoulders with great dignity. Alvaro Gago, who won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize in 2018 with his short by the same title, developes it and creates characters that are rich and relatable offering an engaging take on resilient womanhood. The film has won the director and the lead actress several national and international nominations and awards.

Let’s toast Spanish cinema with the compliments of Alhambra beer before the screening from 7.30pm.