Romeria

AroView: Vividly set in the Atlantic coastal town of Vigo, this is a beautifully naturalistic Spanish drama from Carla Simón (Alcarras) based on the director’s own teenage quest to reconnect with her late father’s biological family.

Carried by a magnetic performance by 18-year-old Llúcia Garcia (who had never acted before), the viewer is invited to share her experience of getting to know an unfamiliar family, with its own peculiar dynamic and history, the threads of which gather to reveal the tragic fate of troubled parents she never knew. The collective memories eventually take hold in her romantic imagination as an aspiring film-maker to touching, tender and deeply satisfying effect.

“Romería‘s exploration of closure and self-discovery makes for an absorbing watch.” ~Rory O’Connor, The Film Stage

“Romería demonstrates once again that Simón has a rare gift for capturing the unpredictable, mercurial beast that is the family.” ~Wendy Ide, Screen Daily

“It’s a bold tilt into magical realism, but the effect is never jarring – rather, it’s a moving capstone to a film which argues that the act of remembering is itself a form of magic.” ~Time Out