The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) returns to Scotland for its 13th edition. The festival offers a packed programme of cinema screenings, guest appearances and cultural events, featuring a total of 16 films from Spain and Latin America and offering a snapshot of the best brand-new Spanish-language cinema for 2026. The majority of the films are Scottish premieres.

ESFF’s two opening films, Band Together by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo and Lust for Life by El Langui, show how people can support and elevate one another and achieve much greater things together.

Daniel Sánchez Arévalo will be in attendance for both Band Together screenings on Fri 2 Oct (18:15) and Sat 3 Oct (16:00) at VUE Omni Centre. Lust for Life producer Rodrigo Espinel will also present and discuss his documentary on Thu 1 Oct (18:15) at Edinburgh Filmhouse. Sánchez Arévalo and Espinel will also join a roundtable about the current state of Spanish cinema on Sat 3 Oct (11:30) at the French Institute of Scotland.

The programme includes other films that test the power of communal efforts across different periods of Spanish history: surviving exile from the Spanish Civil War in Karmele by Asier Altuna; overcoming the challenges of caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s in I Won’t Die for Love by Marta Matute; and resisting the temptation of bribery from a corrupt businessman in The Righteous by Fer Pérez and Jorge A. Lara.

ESFF will also host a special preview of The Black Ball from the Cannes-awarded directing duo Los Javis, celebrating the legacy of Federico García Lorca, and co-written by Alberto Conejero.

This year the Basque Window, in collaboration with the Etxepare Institute, includes Maspalomas, a queer dramedy by Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregui, and Gaua, a folk horror fantasy by Paul Urkijo.

The Latin American Window will feature A World for Julius by Rossana Diaz Costa, an adaptation of the homonymous book by the late Peruvian author Alfredo Bryce Echenique, in collaboration with the Peruvian Embassy of London.

Two hidden gems of Spanish cinema are also on offer: the documentary The Disenchantment by Jaime Chávarri, and the flamenco musical Carmen by Carlos Saura. The latter will be preceded by a special event co-organised with Cinetopia Salon featuring drinks and tapas and a special flamenco show by TuFlamenco.

Marian A. Aréchaga, Director, ESFF, said:

“Spanish cinema is on a high, with the number of films produced in Spain rising steadily in the past few years. At ESFF we are delighted to bring the best of those titles alongside some of the most exciting features from Latin America. It has been and is an incredible experience to share thoughts, views and ideas with directors, colleagues, students and wonderful interpreters who make the whole thing possible.”

Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival runs from Thu 1 Oct to Thu 5 Nov 2026