The 2026 HSBC Spanish & Latin American Film Festival is ready to sweep Australian audiences away on a vibrant cinematic journey this winter, returning with a line-up bursting with passion, rhythm, heartbreak, suspense and soul. Running across Palace Cinemas, Palace Nova and Luna Palace Cinemas from June to July, the festival’s 29th edition brings together more than thirty films from Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay and beyond – each offering its own distinct flavour, voice and perspective.
This year’s program feels especially alive with movement and emotion. One moment audiences are immersed in the bustling kitchens and intoxicating flavours of 1950s Peru, the next they’re swept into Cold War espionage, the pulse of salsa in New York and Cali, or intimate stories of identity, family and reinvention. Across thrillers, romances, historical epics, documentaries and comedies, the festival captures cinema at its most transportive – rich with music, food, memory and humanity.
Benjamin Zeccola, CEO of Palace Cinemas, described the experience as an invitation to travel through cinema itself.
“Opening a window into Spanish and Latin American cinema is to embark on a wonderful adventure,” he said. “You’re visiting exotic places, hearing the voices and accents shift across regions while navigating the challenges of love, life and freedom with a dose of salsa, a swing of the hips, a delicious dish and a glass of wine.”
Leading the festival is the Australian Premiere of the visually sumptuous Peruvian drama Mistura, starring Bárbara Mori. Set against the backdrop of Peru’s celebrated culinary culture, the film follows a woman rebuilding her life through food after the collapse of her marriage. Elegant, heartfelt and filled with mouthwatering imagery, it’s the kind of opening night film that immediately sets the tone for the festival’s sensory pleasures.
The Centrepiece selection, Sundays (Los domingos), arrives with major acclaim after taking home the Golden Shell at the 2025 San Sebastián Film Festival. Director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa crafts an intimate coming-of-age story about family expectation and personal conviction, centring on a young woman whose life choices quietly fracture those around her.
Among the festival’s major special presentations is The Tigers (Los Tigres), a tense maritime thriller starring Antonio de la Torre and Bárbara Lennie as diver siblings confronted with a moral dilemma after stumbling upon the proceeds of a crime. Joining it is Alejandro Amenábar’s sweeping historical epic The Captive (El cautivo), which imagines a young Miguel de Cervantes discovering the power of storytelling while imprisoned in 16th century Algiers.
Elsewhere, audiences can expect everything from political intrigue and survival thrillers to warm-hearted crowd-pleasers and deeply personal dramas. Gael García Bernal stars in the tender romance Nothing Between Us (Nada entre los dos), while Berlinale standout The Blue Trail (O Último Azul) follows a Brazilian woman embarking on one final transformative journey down the Amazon. Emilio Estevez’s The Way also returns for its 15th anniversary with an exclusive pre-recorded Q&A featuring Estevez and Martin Sheen.
The festival’s thriller slate looks particularly strong this year. Luger channels the frenetic energy of Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino in a darkly comic crime story spiralling out of control over one chaotic day, while Sofia’s Suspicion (La sospecha de Sofía) dives into Cold War paranoia and espionage between Spain and Germany. Based on true events, Balandrau, Where the Fierce Wind Blew delivers survival drama on a terrifying scale, recounting the deadly storm that struck the Catalan Pyrenees in 2000.
Music also pulses through the program in unforgettable ways. Band Together (Rondallas) explores healing through community and performance in a small Galician fishing town, while documentary La Salsa Vive traces the vibrant cultural connection between New York and Cali through the enduring legacy of salsa music.
One of the festival’s most fascinating strands is the retrospective program, Uncanny Allegory, which revisits landmark works from Guillermo del Toro, Luis Buñuel and Víctor Erice. From the gothic melancholy of The Devil’s Backbone to the surreal social decay of The Exterminating Angel and the haunting beauty of The Spirit of the Beehive, the sidebar celebrates films that continue to echo through world cinema decades later.
Comedy lovers are also spoiled for choice. Breaking Walls (Los aitas) follows a group of reluctant fathers chaperoning their daughters to a gymnastics competition in Berlin, while Welcome to Lapland (Lapönia) turns a seemingly idyllic Christmas holiday into a hilarious cultural battleground after one child reveals the truth about Santa Claus. Meanwhile, Another League (Pioneras: solo querían jugar) delivers an uplifting true story about the pioneering young women who fought to transform women’s football in Spain during the 1970s.
For younger audiences and families, My Amazing Grandma (Abuela Tremenda) and Bear Claw Camp (Campamento Garra de Oso) round out the line-up with warmth, chaos and adventure.
Now entering its 29th year, the HSBC Spanish & Latin American Film Festival once again promises far more than just a movie program. It’s an invitation to travel through cultures, histories, cuisines, music and emotions – all from the comfort of a cinema seat.
For tickets, session times and further film information, head to the official site here.
LISTING DETAILS:
Canberra – 10th June to 5th July: Palace Electric Cinema; Adelaide – 10th June to 5th July: Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas; Brisbane 11th June to 5th July: Palace James Street and Palace Barracks; Perth – 11th June to 1st July: Palace Raine Square, Luna Leederville and Luna on SX; Melbourne – 12th June to 5th July: The Astor Theatre, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Church St, Palace Penny Lane, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, Palace Balwyn and Pentridge Cinema; Ballarat – 12th June to 5th July: Palace Regent Cinema; Sydney – 18th June to 12 July: Palace Norton Street, Palace Moore Park and Palace Central; Byron Bay/Ballina – 18th June to 12th July: Palace Byron Bay, Ballina Fair Cinemas.
