As summer approaches, one of the most anticipated cultural events for cinema lovers is back: the Spanish-Language Film Festival FeCHA. Running from May 26 to June 5, FeCHA invites audiences to explore the rich tapestry of Spanish-speaking cinema at the iconic open-air venues Ellinis Cinemax Europa Cinemas and Aello Cinemax in Athens.
FeCHA offers a unique window into the vibrant stories, cultures, and social realities of countries across Latin America, Spain, and beyond. This year’s edition boasts a carefully curated selection of feature films, documentaries, and shorts—many of which are rare screenings in Greece—highlighting award-winning works and new voices.
The festival opens with the powerful “Undercover” (La Infiltrada) by Arantxa Echevarría, winner of two Goya Awards (Best Film and Best Actress) and nominated for eleven more. Based on a true story, the film follows a female Spanish National Police agent who infiltrated the ETA terrorist group for eight years, navigating danger and duplicity in a gripping thriller.
Spanish actress Carolina Yuste in the film “Infiltrada”.
The closing film is “Queens” (Reinas) by Klaudia Reynicke Zalla, Switzerland’s official entry for the 2025 Best International Feature Film Oscar. Winner of the Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival and the Audience Award at Locarno, it unfolds in 1990s Peru amid political turmoil, as two teenage sisters unexpectedly reconnect with their absent father, confronting painful changes.
Still frame from FeCHA’s closing film “Reinas”.
Special Guests and Galician Shorts Tribute
This year’s FeCHA warmly welcomes acclaimed Argentine-Spanish director Marina Seresesky and producer Álvaro Lavín, who will present their films Let the Dance Begin (Empieza El Baile) and Babies Don’t Come with Instructions (Sin Instrucciones). The festival also hosts María Ruiz-Falcó Tejeda, Production Director of the FICBUEU festival, who curates a special program of short films from Galicia, Northern Spain. These shorts explore intimate themes from identity and family to resilience and social issues, and will be screened on May 28 at the rooftop of the Instituto Cervantes in Athens with free entry
FeCHA 2025 Film Lineup
Undercover (La Infiltrada)
(Spain, 2024, 118’)
Director: Arantxa Echevarría
Winner of 2 Goya Awards for Best Film and Best Female Performance (Carolina Yuste) 2025
11 additional nominations including Direction, Original Screenplay, Editing, Supporting Actor (Luis Tosar), Supporting Actress (Nausicaa Bonnín)
Based on the true story of Aranzazu Berradre Marín, a Spanish National Police agent who infiltrated the ETA terrorist group for 8 years. After years of covert operations, she finally gets the chance she was chasing: ETA contacts her to use her apartment for preparing attacks. Her toughest mission begins: to inform her superiors while living with two terrorists who would kill her if suspicious. Starring Goya winners Luis Tosar (“Fatum”, “Retribution”) and Carolina Yuste (“Sky High”).
Let the Dance Begin (Empieza El Baile)
(Argentina-Spain, 2023, 100’)
Director: Marina Seresesky
Audience Award at Malaga Film Festival
Thirty years ago, Carlos and Margarita were the world’s most famous tango couple. Carlos now lives in Madrid enjoying a second chance at life, while Margarita remains in Buenos Aires, lost in loneliness and oblivion. A sudden event forces them to reunite and travel the streets of Argentina together with their old friend Pichukito. A journey confronting memories, fears, and true desires.
Featuring discussion with director Marina Seresesky and producer Álvaro Lavín. Screened with Greek and English subtitles.
A Night with the Rolling Stones (Una Noche Con Los Rolling Stones)
(Cuba, 2024, 95’)
Director: Patricia Ramos
Rita, a woman going through a midlife crisis at 40, decides to end a relationship with no future and searches for new love in the days before the historic Rolling Stones concert in Havana.
Screened with Greek and English subtitles.
Babies Don’t Come with Instructions (Sin Instrucciones)
(Spain, 2024, 100’)
Director: Marina Seresesky
Based on the 2013 Mexican film Instructions Not Included. Leo is a carefree womanizer living a self-centered life in a small coastal town in the Canary Islands. His world turns upside down when a woman from a casual relationship leaves their daughter with him and disappears, making him responsible for the child. Initially intending to return the girl to her mother, Leo’s efforts fail. Forced to raise her, he gradually learns fatherhood and his values and priorities change unexpectedly. Years pass filled with happiness until the mother reappears to reclaim her daughter.
Featuring discussion with director Marina Seresesky. Screenings include Greek and English subtitles.
What We Wanted to Be (Lo Que Quisimos Ser)
(Argentina-France, 2024, 90’)
Director: Alejandro Agresti
Reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise. A man and a woman meet outside a movie theater, create a fantasy world in a café as a novelist and astronaut, meet every Thursday, fall in love, and must navigate reality.
The Blue Star (La Estrella Azul)
(Spain-Argentina, 2023, 130’)
Director: Javier Macipe
Winner of Goya Awards for Best New Actor and Best New Director 2025
In early 90s Argentina, Mauricio, a Spanish rock and roll musician trying to reconnect with his vocation, travels through the country and meets an elderly musician facing hard times.
La Suprema
(Colombia, 2023, 83’)
Director: Felipe Holguin
In a remote village without electricity, a teenager convinces the whole town to find a way to watch her estranged uncle compete in a world championship boxing match.
Almost Paradise (Casi El Paraíso)
(Mexico-Italy, 2024, 120’)
Director: Edgar San Juan
Ugo Conti, a charismatic Italian aristocrat and influencer, arrives in Mexico where he seduces Mexican high society. When he meets Frida Becker, the love of his past, he becomes entangled in a political power struggle.
Rita
(Spain, 2024, 94’)
Director: Paz Vega
Rita, seven years old, and her five-year-old brother Lolo come from a working-class family as the whole country goes crazy over the European football championships, with Spain in the quarter-finals.
A House on Fire (Casa En Flames)
(Spain-Italy, 2024, 105’)
Director: Dani de la Orden
Winner of Goya Award for Best Screenplay 2025
Montse, divorced and with two children who have long since ignored her, has been preparing for a family reunion at her home on the Costa Brava. Nothing will prevent her from enjoying one last weekend with her family.
Saturn Return (Segundo Premio)
(Spain-France, 2024, 110’)
Directors: Isaki Lacuesta & Pol Rodríguez
Winner of Goya Award for Best Direction 2025
Late 1990s Granada: art and culture are thriving. An indie band is about to change the Spanish music scene but is going through its worst moment before recording their new album.
La Casa (2024)
(Spain, 83’)
Director: Álex Montoya
Nominated for 2 Goya Awards 2025
After their father’s death, three siblings return to their childhood home planning to sell it and follow their very different paths. As memories resurface in every corner, their fear of letting go of the past and desire to reunite grow stronger. As a final tribute to their father, there may still be time to make up for lost time, and the house may witness new stories. Based on the multi-award-winning graphic novel by Paco Roca.
The Most Feared Skin (La Piel más temida)
(Peru, 2023, 107’)
Director: Joel Calero
Alejandra returns to Peru to discover her father is alive and in prison. Her journey becomes one of inner discovery, bringing her closer to her father, her country, and her own identity.
Querer (2024)
(Spain, 2024, 212’)
Director: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
A multi-award-winning 4-episode miniseries. After 30 years of marriage and two children, Miren leaves her marital home and accuses her husband of repeated rape. The serious accusation forces their children to choose whether to believe their mother or support their father, who claims innocence. A family journey unfolding alongside a legal battle aiming to reveal the truth.
Since the Last Time We Met (Desde La Ultima Vez Que Nos Vimos)
(Argentina, 2023, 81’)
Director: Matías De Leis Correa
Victor unexpectedly reunites with his first love David, fifteen years after they last saw each other. The reunion revives their clandestine romance from youth.
Queens (Reinas)
(Peru-Switzerland-Spain, 2024, 102’)
Director: Klaudia Reynicke
Official Swiss entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, APRECI Awards winner, Grand Prix for Best Film in Generation Kplus at Berlin Film Festival, Audience Award Winner at Locarno Film Festival
Two teenage sisters are about to leave their country forever when they unexpectedly reconnect with their absent father. This relationship both amplifies and eases their pain of change.
The Red Virgin (La Virgen Roja)
(Spain, 2024, 114’)
Director: Paula Ortiz
Nominated for 9 Goya Awards 2025
From the director of The Bride (La Novia), based on Lorca’s play. Ildegarda is trained by her mother Aurora to become the woman of the future, one of the brightest minds in 1930s Spain. At 18, Ildegarda begins to experience freedom and meets Abel Velilla, who helps her explore new emotions and escape her mother’s oppression. Aurora fears losing control over her daughter and does everything to prevent her from leaving. The two women confront each other on a summer night in 1933.
Parallel Events
Wednesday, May 28
FICBUEU curates a program of Galician short films for FeCHA 2025, presented on the rooftop of the Cervantes Institute (Skoufa 31, Athens) at 21:00 by María Ruiz-Falcó Tejeda, Production Director, Programmer, and Co-director at FICBUEU. Free entrance, first-come-first-served.
Galician Shorts Program
still frame from the short film “Habitar”.
• Habitar (Anxos Fazáns, Spain, 2023, 15’) — Explores identity through portraits of trans and non-binary people in Galicia.
• Ulises (Félix Brixel, Spain, 2023, 24’) — A man with psychomotor disorder tries to bury himself; his brother helplessly tries to care for him.
• Rompente (Eloy Domínguez Serén, Spain, 2022, 25’) — A teenage father works as a fisherman by day and smuggler by night, while his girlfriend cares for their baby.
• Sandwich Cat (David Fidalgo, Spain, 2022, 11’) — David lives alone with his cat, Sandwich Cat, until an unexpected visit leads to a profound reflection on humanity.
Thursday, June 5 — Free Entrance
Aspecial screening of the animated film Black Butterflies (Mariposas Negras), Spain-Panama, 2024, 83’, and winner of the 2025 Goya Award for Best Animated Film, will take place at Cine Vox at 21:30.
