• The most remarkable cinema screened at Festivals returns to the Gran-Canarian capital showcasing the latest works by filmmakers such as Jia Zhangke, Hong Sang-soo, Julie Delpy, Dea Kulumbegashvili, Margarida Cardoso, Juliana Rojas and Yeo Siew Hub
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tuesday, April 15, 2025.- Panorama is one of those sections that have become essential to the usual programming of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival, which will take place from April 25 to May 4. Excitedly awaited by the audience of the film event every year, this section offers the most remarkable works that have been shown at festivals during the current or previous year. In this edition, it brings a selection of pieces explicitly or intrinsically linked to the concept of journey.
We may find in this year’s Panorama, for instance, the latest productions by directors Yeo Siew Hu or Juliana Rojas, who changes her register as a filmmaker. Furthermore, among these auteur cinema jewels stands out a work by upcoming Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili, as well as those by reliable veterans such as Margarida Cardoso o Julie Delpy, to whom the Festival dedicated a statuette and a retrospective as part of its 20th anniversary. Thus, this section continues to follow the careers of filmmakers who hold a significant place in the history of the film event.
Finally, in addition to showing Hong Sang-soo’s new film, the Festival will bring back to the silver screen a work by Jia Zhangke, winner of the 2004 Golden Lady Harimaguada for The World, to whom the organization dedicated the first Spanish retrospective of his work in 2006 and granted the 10th Anniversary Special Award in 2009.
2025 Panorama titles
Caught by the Tides by Jia Zhangke (China, 2024, 111 min.) portrays a love story in the puzzling China of the early 21st century. Festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, Valladolid or Gijón have already screened this piece by the Chinese director, which earned him a Palm d’Or nomination at last year’s French festival.
By the Stream by Hong Sang-soo (South Korea, 2024, 111 min.) lands in Gran Canaria after appearing at festivals such as Locarno, Toronto, São Paolo, New York or Vienna. True to his particular style, Hong Sang-soo tells the story of a veteran actor and director who, after being called by her niece, goes to a women’s college to direct the main play of their theater festival. Its lead actress, Kim Min-hee (awarded at Locarno and Gijón), is one of the biggest reasons to enjoy this title, which has also won the main prize at Gijón’s Albar section.
Les Barbares | Meet the Barbarians by Julie Delpy (France, 2024, 101 min.) takes the audience to a small village in Brittany, whose residents are joyfully preparing to welcome a family of Ukrainian refugees but wind up receiving a group of Syrians. Julie Delpy, whose work has been shown in Toronto and Seville, deals with her story’s moral issues in a skillful and explicit way while maintaining the style she has consolidated throughout her extensive career.
Banzo by Margarida Cardoso (Portugal, France, Netherlands, 2024, 127 min.) focuses on the arrival of Dr Afonso on the island of São Tomé to care for a group of servants affected by a strange virus known as banzo. Thanks to this original story about a virus that causes a profound and deadly sadness, Margarida Cardoso has captivated critics and public alike at the Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic) and Seville festivals. The veteran Portuguese director handles herself gracefully in these settings, which appear exotic to Western audiences, while keeping the transcendental beat of her stories.
In Cidade-Campo (Brazil, Germany, France, 2024, 119 min.), Juliana Rojas contrasts young Joana’s migration from the countryside to São Paulo with Flávia and Mara’s flight from the city to the rural environment. It is a tale of two escapes in opposite directions that have already been screened at the Berlin, San Sebastián and London film festivals. The Brazilian director, famous for her solid contributions to the fantastic and horror genres, adopts in this piece a more social approach to the harsh realities of her country.
Mo Shi Lu | Stranger Eyes (Singapore, Taiwan, France, USA, 2024, 126 min.) is the work created by Yeo Siew Hua to develop a disturbing story: a young couple suffering from their baby’s mysterious disappearance begins to receive videos of their own daily routines. Winner of the 2024 Silver Spike at the Valladolid Film Festival (and nominated to the Golden Lion at Venice), this film that has shaken festival audiences now arrives in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria amid huge expectation.
Aprili | April by Georgian Dea Kulumbegashvili (Georgia, Italy, France, 2024, 134 min.) has been screened at festivals such as Venice, San Sebastián, Toronto or New York. In this occasion, the filmmaker, who already dazzled in her Beginning (2020 Silver Shell for Best Director), delves into the dramatic situation arisen from the death of a newborn after being delivered under the supervision of obstetrician-gynecologist Nina. Amid accusations of negligence and rumors of performing illegal abortions starting to spread throughout the small Georgian town where the story takes place, the protagonist decides to remain dedicated to her professional duties, committed to an extreme work. This tough piece has consolidated Kulumbegashvili as a remarkable creator within the latest European auteur cinema, as well as a filmmaker who knows how to make, defend and develop her own stories onscreen.
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