This Autumn, the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival (ESFF) returns to venues across Scotland where film fans can relish this anticipated 13th edition.
With the majority of films being Scottish premieres, ESFF offers a packed programme of cinema screenings, guest appearances and cultural events, featuring a total of 16 films from Spain and Latin America giving a snapshot of the best new Spanish language cinema for 2026. All films will be screened in their original language with English subtitles and for hard-of-hearing (HOH) audiences, all screenings of Lust for Life and Band Together will feature captions.
ESFF’s two opening films, Band Together by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, who will be in attendance, and Lust for Life by El Langui, whose producer Rodrigo Espinel will also be present, show how people can support one another and achieve greater things together. Lust for Life will also be screened in Edinburgh and Tranent for special school screenings.
The programme includes other films that test the power of communal efforts across different periods of Spanish history with in Karmele by Asier Altuna; I Won’t Die for Love by Marta Matute and 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.
This year the Basque Window, in collaboration with the Etxepare Institute, includes Maspalomas and Gaua while the Latin American Window will feature A World for Julius by Rossana Díaz Costa, an adaptation of the book by the late Peruvian author Alfredo Bryce Echenique.
The documentary The Disenchantment by Jaime Chávarri and the flamenco musical Carmen by Carlos Saura also feature. 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.
This year, A World for Julius and Nena by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa will be available online with an access code for UK schools.
In a new collaboration with Scottish charity The Welcoming, supporting asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Edinburgh, ESFF will host a special workshop centred on the richness of spoken languages, and how these connect to a sense of belonging in Edinburgh.
ESFF is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Film Hub Scotland, Screen Scotland, the Spanish Embassy in London and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.
Full details at www.edinburghspanishfilmfestival.com
Dates: 1st October – 5th November 2026
Places and Venues:
Edinburgh:
Filmhouse
88 Lothian Road, EH3 9BZ
Films: £13 full price, £11.50 concession
French Institute of Scotland
West Parliament Square, EH1 1RN
Films: £10 full price, £8 concession
VUE Omni, Calton Square, EH1 3AU
Films: £10 full price, £8 concession
Glasgow:
Glasgow Film Theatre
12 Rose Street, Glasgow G3 6RB
Films: £12.25 full price, £9.50 concession
Tranent:
The Fraser Centre
3 Winton Place, EH33 1AF
Films: £7 full price, £6 concession
Stirling:
Macrobert Arts Centre
University of Stirling, FK9 4LA
Films: £6 (Pay What You Can)
Ayr:
Merlin Astoria Cinema
Burns Statue Square, Ayr KA7 1UP
Films: £6 standard / £3 concession
Free with Ayr Film Society membership
Irene Brown
