Posted by Larry Gleeson

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is hosting a celebration of Pedro Almodovar’s work with 8 of the celebrated auteur’s greatest films.
The films are screening the week of October 25 – 31 at Lynda and Bruce’s Riviera Theatre, the new Cinema Art House of SBIFF. The renovated theatre has larger, plush seats, along with a new projector and sound system (one of 26 theatres across the country and the only non-profit).

Viva Pedro! is a retrospective leading up to Almodovar’s November 1st release of his newest film, PAIN AND GLORY, where Almodovar reflects on his life and his filmmaking career. See below for a list of films with showtimes. This retrospective is sure to be a good time.

See you at the movies!

Passes and Tickets are Available Here

When porn director Pablo reluctantly breaks up with his boyfriend, Juan, he encourages him to stay in touch. Juan moves away to live in a lighthouse and eventually writes his ex, but in the interim Pablo has taken up with a psychotic new lover, Antonio. Antonio intercepts their correspondence and flies into a towering rage, terrifying Pablo, but also inspiring him creatively as he works on a play about his transsexual sister.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Miguel Molina
Country: Spain
102 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Friday 10/25 – 5:00pm
Monday 10/28 – 5:00pm

When Pepa Marcos’ lover Ivan suddenly leaves her without any explanation, she embarks on a strange journey to discover why. On the way she meets a variety of eccentric characters, including Ivan’s son from a previous relationship, his fiancee Marissa and a Shiite terrorist cell who have been secretly holding her best friend Candela hostage. It’s a film noir take on the romantic comedy.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, Rossy de Palma, María Barranco
Country: Spain
88 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Friday 10/25 – 7:30pm
Monday 10/28 – 7:30pm

All About My Mother – Todo sobre mi madre (1999)

Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film

A Greek saying states that only women who have washed their eyes with tears can see clearly. This saying does not hold true for Manuela. The night a car ran over her son Esteban, Manuela cried until her eyes ran completely dry. Far from seeing clearly, the present and the future become mixed up in darkness. She begins looking for his father who has become a transvestite.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Penélope Cruz, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Rosa Maria Sardà, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Fernando Guillén, Toni Cantó, Eloy Azorin, Carlos Lozano
Country: Spain, France
101 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Saturday 10/26 – 2:30pm
Tuesday 10/29 – 5:00pm

Talk To Her – Hable con ella (2002)

Academy Award Winner for Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Academy Award Nominee for Best Director

Male nurse Benigno becomes infatuated with a complete stranger when he watches dancer Alicia practicing from the anonymity of his apartment. After being injured in a car accident, Alicia is brought to a nearby hospital, where Benigno serendipitously happens to be her caregiver. When wounded bullfighter Lydia is brought into the same ward, her companion, writer Marco, begins to bond with Benigno.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, Rosario Flores
Country: Spain
112 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Saturday 10/26 – 5:00pm
Tuesday 10/29 – 7:30pm

Bad Education – La mala educación (2004)

When an old friend brings filmmaker Enrique Goded a semi-autobiographical script chronicling their adolescence, Enrique is forced to relive his youth spent at a Catholic boarding school. Weaving through past and present, the script follows a transvestite performer who reconnects with a grade school sweetheart. Spurred on by this chance encounter, the character reflects on her childhood sexual victimization and the trauma of closeting her sexual orientation.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Gael García Bernal, Fele Martinez, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Javier Cámara, Petra Martínez, Leonor Watling
Country: Spain
106 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Saturday 10/26 – 7:30pm
Wednesday 10/30 – 5:00pm

Volver (2006)

Academy Award Nominee for Penelope Cruz for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Raimunda works and lives Madrid with her husband Paco and daughter Paula. Her sister Sole lives nearby and they both miss their mother Irene, who died several years ago in a house fire along with their father. A former neighbor from their hometown reports that she has seen the ghost of Irene and both daughters do not believe her. After a murder and a family tragedy, Irene’s spirit materializes around her daughters to help comfort them.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave
Country: Spain
121 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Sunday 10/27 – 2:30pm
Wednesday 10/30 – 7:30pm

Broken Embraces – Los abrazos rotos (2009)

The death of Ernesto Martel sets off a chain of events that forces one man to come to terms with his past. Before he went blind, Harry Caine was Mateo Blanco, a film director who often worked with Ernesto. Ten years ago, Ernesto and Mateo’s friendship became a battle for Lena, Ernesto’s mistress and Mateo’s secret object of affection. When the former recruits his son to spy on the latter, things quickly spiral out of control.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Penélope Cruz, Blanca Portillo, Lluís Homar, Lola Dueñas, Ángela Molina, Rossy de Palma
Country: Spain
127 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Sunday 10/27 – 5:00pm
Thursday 10/31 – 5:00pm

Julieta (2016)

After a chance meeting, middle-aged Julieta learns that her long-lost daughter has resurfaced in Madrid. This begins a painful reflection by Julieta into her checkered past, flashing back to the moments of pain that defined her current life.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Stars: Emma Suárez, Adriana Ugarte
Country: Spain
99 minutes
Subtitled

SHOWING:
Sunday 10/27 – 7:30pm
Thursday 10/31 – 7:30pm