By Helen Musa

The 2026  Spanish & Latin American Film Festival arrives in Canberra on Wednesday, bringing more than 30 films from Spain and Latin America.

Festival organisers describe the event as “a wonderful adventure”, offering audiences the chance to experience diverse cultures, languages and stories while exploring themes of love, life and freedom through contemporary and classic cinema.

Opening the festival is the Australian premiere of the Peruvian drama Mistura, starring Bárbara Mori. Set in the 1950s, the award-winning film follows a woman whose life is thrown into turmoil when her husband leaves her. Mistura combines sumptuous cinematography with a story of self-discovery.

The festival’s centrepiece is Sundays (Los domingos), winner of the Golden Shell for Best Film at the 2025 San Sebastián Film Festival. Directed by Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, the coming-of-age drama examines the tensions that emerge within a family when a young woman chooses an unexpected path.

Among the festival highlights is The Tigers (Los Tigres), a maritime thriller from director Alberto Rodríguez. Antonio de la Torre and Bárbara Lennie play professional diver siblings who stumble across the proceeds of a crime.

Family audiences are catered for with two light-hearted offerings. My Amazing Grandma (Abuela Tremenda) where an irrepressible grandmother disrupts a corporate retreat attended by her daughter and granddaughter. Meanwhile, Bear Claw Camp (Campamento Garra de Oso) combines live action and animation in an adventure about two children racing to save their summer camp.

Another special presentation is Alejandro Amenábar’s historical adventure The Captive (El cautivo), which follows a young Miguel de Cervantes during his imprisonment in 1575 Algiers, exploring how the future author of Don Quixote found refuge in storytelling during captivity.

The festival retrospective, titled Uncanny Allegory, revisits three influential works, Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone, Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel and Víctor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive.

Closing the festival is a newly restored presentation of Carlos Saura’s landmark 1966 drama The Hunt (La Caza), marking the film’s 60th anniversary. Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival, the psychological drama uses a rabbit hunt between friends as an allegory for the lingering wounds of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.

The Spanish & Latin American Film Festival. Palace Electric Cinema,  June 10-July 5.