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BERLINALE 2009 Spain

Diaz Yanes' latest among 3 Spanish titles to screen in Panorama

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Three very different Spanish productions have been selected in the Panorama section of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival (February 5-15). These include acclaimed Spanish director Agustín Díaz Yanes’ latest, Solo Quiero Caminar [+see also:
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(“I Just Want to Walk”); Roberto Castón’s Ander [+see also:
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, the first gay-themed, Basque-language film; and Chema Rodríguez’s documentary Coyote.

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The Berlinale will hopefully mark the “first step in an international career" for Solo Quiero Caminar – one of the favourites to pick up honours at the forthcoming Goyas, where it has been nominated for 11 awards.

Despite its poor performance at the Spanish box office – where it has garnered just under 200,000 admissions since its release on October 31, 2008 – the film has all the ingredients for success. These include its director, Díaz Yanes, who made his name with works such as Alatriste [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
and Nobody Will Speak of Us When We’re Dead, and an exceptional cast featuring Victoria Abril, Ariadna Gil, Elena Anaya, Pilar López de Ayala and Mexican actor Diego Luna.

More surprising is the selection of Ander (see news), the debut directorial feature by Castón, who heads the Zinegoak Festival in Bilbao. The film’s 40-year-old protagonist – who lives in a house in the country with his mother and sister – discovers his homosexuality late in life.

Finally, Coyote looks at the strange method used by a human trafficker who smuggles illegal immigrants from Mexico into the US. This work marks Rodríguez’s return to the Berlinale’s Panorama section, where he presented The Railroad All Stars two years ago.

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(Translated from Spanish)

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