The 2026 HSBC Spanish & Latin American Film Festival (10 June to 12 July) has offered a first taste of its its 29th edition, including an award-winning drama, a rom-com starring one of the most well-known Latin American actors, a historical epic, salsa documentary, and more.
Set against the backdrop of a corporate crisis, Nothing Between Us (Nada entre los dos) is an intimate and charming love story from Argentina and Uruguay, starring Gael García Bernal and Natalia Oreiro, from Argentina and Uruguay. In the first time the two popular actors have appeared on screen together, they star as colleagues on conference at a beach resort in Mexico faced with the fragile balance between personal freedom and social expectations.
The Festival Centrepiece is the highly awarded Spanish box office hit Sundays (Los domingos), from writer/director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, which won the Golden Shell (Best Film) at the 2025 San Sebastián Film Festival, in addition to five Goya Awards and five Feroz Awards.
The quietly spellbinding drama explores a family in crisis after their 17-year-old daughter defies expectations and declares that she is choosing the life of a cloistered nun.
From award-winning director Alejandro Amenábar, comes the epic historical adventure The Captive (El cautivo), the Festival Special Presentation. The ambitious and thrilling drama starring Julio Peña (Through My Window) and Alessandro Borghi (The Eight Mountains) follows a young Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, who finds an unexpected refuge in the art of storytelling while imprisoned in 16th-century Algiers.
La Salsa Vive is a vivid documentary, from Colombia and the USA via Havana, that tells the story of two cities bound by the rhythm of salsa. From New York City, where the genre was born in the 1970s, to Cali, Colombia, the self-proclaimed ‘world capital of salsa’ where it thrives with unmatched passion. The evolution of the genre is an illuminating journey of cultural heritage, music and dance, much like the global 1990s hit The Buena Vista Social Club.
Brazilian film Isabel, direct from the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival, is an intoxicating drama imbued with wine. It follows talented sommelier Isabel (Marina Person, who also co-wrote the script) in São Paulo’s fine-dining scene who dreams of opening her own wine bar away from her controlling boss. However, she must balance following her passion with the realities of opening a business.
In a feel-good origins tale inspired by true events, Another League (Pioneras: solo querían jugar) tells the story of a group of girls in the early 1970s who decide to play football in a country that does not see a place for them in the sport. Through the many challenges they face, they meet an ambitious promotor who is determined to change the story of women’s football in Spain.
For families and schools, there is the charming family comedy and Spanish box office hit My Amazing Grandma (Abuela Tremenda). Contrasting overprotective parents with the wild and carefree energy of a mischievous grandmother, three generations of women experience hilarious disasters at a rural farm.
And fun is guaranteed in Bear Claw Clamp (Campamento Garra de Oso) in which two nine-year-olds race against time to save their summer camp, combining live action and animation for an exciting adventure about the power of friendship and teamwork.
The 2026 HSBC Spanish & Latin American Film Festival takes place nationally from 10 June to 12 July (dates vary) in Melbourne, Ballarat, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Byron Bay and Ballina.
