Spain

In spite of the fact that there are no exact statistics available about the number of Muslims in Spain, it is estimated that about 25,000 individuals have converted to Islam out of whom 10,000 people have converted within the last five years. A great number of these people live in Andalusia (3,500) and Catalonia (3,000).The phenomenon of conversion has seen a lot of changes in this country throughout years. Some of the individuals involved, for instance, established leftist organizations in the Andalusia region in the 80s.
“Muslims and the Leftists” examines the formation of such organizations against the backdrop of political, social, and religious context of different times and ages up to now. The interviewees in this documentary discuss the status quo of such organizations in Spain, probe into the ways through which Islam has influenced the Leftist parties and their members in Spain, talk about how Islam has impacted on social and political lives in the country in general, and put into perspective the way the non-Muslim community views Muslims in modern SpainRead More »

Plot : Canciones de amor en Lolita’s Club (2007) is an erotic thriller, in which sex and brutality are mixed in a story of twin brothers, one a violent police officer the other mentally challenged, both tragically involved with a prostitute in the bordello that gives the film its title.Read More »

Ethiopia is a Christian island surrounded by Muslim countries and Harar is other island within that island: a difficult city for sorting, the fourth holiest city of Islam with almost a hundred mosques within its walls, and the place where the poet Arthur Rimbaud chose to refuge in his flight from Europe. Here women control on the street the sale of khat, a plant with stimulant powers that sets the pace of Harar. Consumption, ritualized in everyday life of the city, provides its inhabitants a unique identityRead More »

Plot summary:
Leo (Angel Jové), a psycopath and a silent, obsessed and deeply disturbed man, concieves a progressive fascination for Bilbao
(Isabel Pisano), a striptease ballerina, who to reach the end of the month, she has to be a prostitute. Leo studies her movements and ends up kidnapping her, as if she was his object to add to his erotic collection.Read More »

A young couple, passionately in love, in a mutual giving action, exchange their sexual identity.Read More »

A 48-hour leave from reform school brings life lessons for the teenage protagonist of “7 Virgins,” a street-kids piece that combines energy and delicacy to striking and subtle effect. The best Spanish movie of its type since Fernando Leon’s 1998 “Barrio,” pic rises above genre standard with scrupulous attention to detail and an engaging central tandem. Downsides are lapses into sentimentality and visual deja vu, and an occasional inability to exploit the emotional potential. “Virgins” should snuggle up in plenty of fest beds, with arthouse interest a certainty in Spain-friendly territories.Read More »

Synopsis: Veteran director Jose Luis Cuerda delivered this sensitive portrait of a child coming of age during a tense political situation just before the Spanish Civil War. On his first day of school, frail eight-year-old Moncho (Manuel Lozano) is so terrified by the imposing figure of his teacher Don Gregorio (Fernando Fernan Gomez) that he flees into the nearby woods. In spite of his authoritarian appearance, the schoolmaster proves to be a kind, free-thinking Republican who teaches Moncho the virtues of being good. The boy is soon spending much of his time with the elderly Gregorio in the Galician countryside, admiring such wonders of nature as the tongue of a butterfly. Other people in young Moncho’s world include his down-to-earth mother (Uxia Blanco), his Republican father, and his older brother, who plays the saxophone with a group of local musicians. However, when the Fascists roll into town, the boy’s life changes forever. La Lengua de las Mariposas was screened at the 1999 San Sebastian Film Festival. -Jonathan Crow (AMG)Read More »

Quote:
H6 tells the story of Antonio Frau, a serial killer set free after serving 25 years in jail for the violent murder of his girlfriend. After inheriting and old motel from a relative he never knew, he sees this as a signal and takes to his holy task of relieving the grief of those who have lost the will to live. He takes his victims to room Number 6 in the motel where he ‘purifies’ them, while, at the same time, continues his everyday life next to his wife. A mistake leads to his arrest, and his plan to become rich and famous takes relevance.Read More »

Quote:
This is the story of a disoriented and vulnerable woman, overburdened with daily life problems and more: her belongings are impounded, her cosmetics shop has been closed down, and her children are forced to go to a public school. The childrenŽs vitality draw a sharp contrast against the apathy shown by their mother, who slowly plunges into a deep depression. The kids, becoming aware that she lacks the necessary strength and maturity to effectlvely face these problems, are forced to adopt adult attitudes. Life goes on, and things change. Sometimes changes are slow and unnoticeable, sometimes they are sharp and tangible, and everything is transformed, always..Read More »