The Spanish Film Festival begins in May with a stellar lineup of films to showcase the cinema of Spain, Latin-America and beyond.

The 2015 program, exclusive to Palace Cinemas around Australia boasts 38 features as varied as the ceramic tiles on a Gaudi masterpiece.

The Festival will open with Emilio Martínez-Lázaro’s Spanish Affair.

This comedic tale mischievously pokes fun at cultural differences as it tracks a young southerner who tenaciously seeks to win the heart of a Basque girl.

Starring popular stand-up comic and presenter Dani Rovira, and the charming Clara Lago, Spanish Affair became a must-see in Spain and is sure to be a favourite at the 2015 Spanish Film Festival.

Period cop drama Marshland was the proud and worthy recipient of 10 Goya Awards recently, including Best Film, Best Director (Alberto Rodríguez), Best Actor and Best Art Direction.

This is brooding Spanish cinema like you have never seen it before, with the film set in 1980 in the repressed southern marshland town of Villafranco del Guadalquivir, an eerie place where everyone holds their cards close to their chest.

Fans of True Detective will relish in this tense stylish thriller with its social critique, tight focus on character and mesmerising landscapes.

This year’s festival includes a slate of romances, comedies, and combinations of both, to warm the heart.

The Unexpected Life welcomes Spain’s finest actors Javier Cámara (Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed, Talk To Her) and Raul Arévalo (Family United, Ghost Graduation) to the bustling streets of Manhattan as they learn what it means to live and love as a Spaniard in New York City.

Gonzalo Diaz also explores immigration in I Am From Chile by drawing inspiration from his own experiences through the character of naïve Salvador (Diego Ruiz), who moves to London from Chile to study English and travel around Europe at his parents’ expense until a financial crisis back home leaves him with little resources.

Two love stories play out across the seas from Spain to Argentina in Easy Sex, Sad Movies when Pablo (Ernesto Alterio) is hired to write a new romantic comedy.

As Pablo gets deeper into his script he soon finds it difficult to separate his plot lines from what is happening in his own troubled love life.

Then, take a trip to Pamplona for Blue Lips, which sees six characters from six different cities around the world experience an abrupt change in their lives, leading them to this historic town and into new relationships.

The full program will be announced in early March.  Tickets will go on sale 19^th March to the general public, with exclusive early-bird prices for Palace Movie Club Members.

Information courtesy of Steven Watt