SILVER

[ESPÍRITU SAGRADO]
In the small Spanish city of Elche, José Manuel (Nacho Fernández) runs an Egyptian-themed bar and spends his off-hours with a group of fellow UFO believers and conspiracy theorists, meeting weekly to exchange information about abductions and recent encounters of the third kind. His sister Charo (Joanna Valverde) is desperately looking for signs of her daughter Vanessa, who has been missing for a month, leaving behind her identical twin sister Verónica (Llum Arqués). José Manuel and Charo take care of their ailing mother Carmina (Rocío Ibáñez), who used to be a clairvoyant until Alzheimer's robbed her of her abilities. When José Manuel is called upon to embrace his destiny, he'll need the help of the family's gifts to invoke an ancient spirit, ultimately revealing a dark secret. Shot on 16mm, this immaculately framed debut from Chema García Ibarra is a darkly comic gem, and winner of the Golden Leopard – Special Mention at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival. DIR/SCR Chema García Ibarra; PROD Leire Apellaniz, Miguel Molina, Marina Perales Marhuenda, Xavier Rocher. Spain/France/Turkey, 2021, color, 97 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED

No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.