The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) welcomes film fans from all over Scotland to its 13th edition. The festival is delighted to offer 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 our films are Scottish premieres. ESFF 2026 celebrates the role of the community, and the idea that shared experiences make life richer, because success and happiness are not only based on individual achievements but also on the connections we build with others. 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 Friday 2 October (18:15) and Saturday 3 October (16:00) at VUE Omni Centre. Lust for Life producer Rodrigo Espinel will also present and discuss his documentary on Thursday 1 October (18:15) at Edinburgh Filmhouse. Sánchez Arévalo and Espinel will also join a roundtable about the current state of Spanish cinema on Saturday 3 October (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 (in attendance, Wednesday 7 October, 18:00 at the French Institute); overcoming the challenges of caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s in I Won’t Die for Love by Marta Matute (in attendance, Saturday 10 October, 15:30 at Filmhouse); and resisting the temptation of bribery from a corrupt businessman in The Righteous by Fer Pérez and Jorge A. Lara (the latter in attendance, Saturday 10 October, 19:00 at VUE). 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 (in attendance, Sunday 11 October, 19:30 at Filmhouse). This year the Basque Window, in collaboration with the Etxepare Institute, includes Maspalomas, a queer dramedy by Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregui (Friday 9 October, 20:15 at Filmhouse), and Gaua, a folk horror fantasy by Paul Urkijo (Thursday 8 October, 20:30 at Filmhouse). The Latin American Window will feature A World for Julius by Rossana Díaz 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 (Tuesday 6 October, 18:15 at the French Institute) and the flamenco musical Carmen by Carlos Saura (Friday 9 October, 19:40 at the French Institute). 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. All films will be screened in their original language with English subtitles. For hard-of-hearing (HOH) audiences, all screenings of Lust for Life and Band Together in Edinburgh and across Scotland will feature HOH captions provided by Edinburgh-based accessibility experts Screen Language. Please see the festival guide for full details on this year's programme.

Description supplied by the event organiser.