Rodrigo Sorogoyen arrives in Alicante with an impressive collection of awards including nine Goyas, the César for best foreign film, four Platino awards, and two Frames. With this trophy cabinet, the director comes to the city next Friday to participate in a program at the University of Alicante Museum at 1:00 pm. The Cinema and Audiovisual Classroom, part of the Cultural Service, will showcase selected scenes from his films and offer the director’s commentary.
At 7:00 pm, Sorogoyen closes the Mayo Negro cycle curated by Mariano Sánchez Soler. This year, Francisco J Ortiz highlights contributions to cinema of noir and Sorogoyen. A short film by Sorogoyen will be screened, followed by a talk in which he reflects on a selection of his works that earned recognition at the Alicante Film Festival in 2017. Admission to both activities is free, subject to seat availability.
Film director and screenwriter Rodrigo Sorogoyen was born in Madrid in 1981. His early work, including Stockholm, established him in the genre boundaries that would define his later projects. His film God Forgive Us, released in 2016, marked a breakthrough in dark-themed storytelling and drew widespread critical and audience acclaim.
The film Kingdom, released in 2018, earned Sorogoyen Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the 2019 Goya Awards, shared with Isabel Peña, and the movie collected several other Goyas in different categories. His most recent project, As Monsters, achieved top recognition at the Goyas with multiple awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Leading Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Between these two features, he directed Mom, a project inspired by his short film and later adapted into a television miniseries called Riot Gear.
Black May 2023 Begins
Reaching its fifteenth edition, the Mayo Negro cycle starts on a Wednesday evening and runs until the following day, with events at the Alicante City Venue. The program includes talks on real crime and a lecture on post-Franco Spain’s criminal history. The event features a discussion by Mariano Sánchez Soler about his books Ultra Long Walk and A Pile of Corpses.
Mayo Negro continues its focus on noir storytelling, with Sorogoyen’s cinema and related literary voices taking center stage this year.
Mayo Negro Emphasizes Film Noir Writers and Sorogoyen
On the following Thursday, the program spotlights the writers of the day and features other perspectives within film noir. The cycle also includes conversations with novelists Esther Abellán, Empar Fernández, Marta Prieto, and Mónica Rouanet. The third day is devoted to Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s contribution to film noir. The cycle concludes with a screening of God Forgive Us at a late morning session.
Writers
Esther Abellán, born in Villena in 1971, is a poet and performer who founded the cultural collective El Abrigo Verde Teatro and leads a multidisciplinary project known as Matuška. She has published a collection of poems and, in 2023, ventured into novel writing with a debut that has been well received.
Empar Fernández, born in Barcelona in 1962, is a writer and screenwriter for historical documentaries. Her debut novel won a short novel prize, and her work spans themes ranging from social critique to noir. She has collaborated on several novels with other notable authors and continues to publish contemporary works that explore memory and mystery.
Martha Prieto, a graduate in law who later pursued writing, has crafted fiction grounded in social realities. Her first novel, widely acclaimed in noir circles, earned recognition at a major literary festival. She continues to develop new projects, focusing on fiction rooted in real-life experiences.
Monica Rouanet, born in Alicante in 1970, holds degrees in philosophy and pedagogy and has spent much of her career focused on social inclusion. Her novels, including Where the Streets Have No Names and Wake Me Up When September Ends, have been bestsellers and have made a lasting impact on contemporary noir and realist fiction. Her forthcoming work promises to deepen the exploration of human resilience and change.