The final month of the year brings a rich lineup to cinemas, with 16 very different titles hitting screens this Friday. From the heartfelt Christmas drama Christmas in Your Hands starring Santiago Segura to the animated Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning and the intimate Spanish indie About Everything at Night, the slate runs wide and deep. Notable performers include Lola Dueñas and Ana Torrent in key roles throughout the season.
‘Especially at night’
Basque filmmaker Victor Iriarte makes her feature debut with It’s All About the Night, a poetic, minimalist tale about the bond between two women and a child. Cora, played by Ana Torrent, becomes closely attached to the child, while Vera, portrayed by Lola Dueñas, is haunted by a past where she believed the infant had died. The film explores memory, longing, and the ambiguous nature of motherhood with quiet grace.
‘Dinner table’
Caye Houses, known for chilling horror work such as Killing God, pivots to dark comedy to tell the story of Mary and Jesus, newly minted parents facing one of the worst moments in their relationship. The film hinges on a seemingly trivial purchase — a dining table — revealing how a single object can illuminate a family’s deepest and most awkward truths.
‘A night with Adela’
Laura Galán, who earned a Goya for Pig, steps into the spotlight alongside Jimmy Barnatán and Litus in Una Noche con Adela. Hugo Ruiz makes his directing debut, following Adela, a night-shift street sweeper in Madrid who reaches out to the Hablar portal radio program. Her mission is starkly simple: confront the criminals who have darkened her world, and settle old scores, once and for all.
‘Christmas is in your hands’
Just days before Christmas, Santa Claus, played by Santiago Segura, ends up in the hospital after a sledding accident in central Madrid. Salva, his roommate, may step in to perform the sacred duty of delivering gifts, even though Salva’s life has passed beyond the conventional bounds of benevolence and good will.
‘Eight Moroccan surnames’
After a through-line that surveys Basque and Catalan cinema, the continent-wide epic Eight Moroccan Surnames shifts its artistic team for a new chapter. Julian López and Michelle Jenner lead the cast as the film continues to challenge prejudice through humor and humanity, broadening its earthy, deeply humane appeal.
‘Duty’
Antonina Obrador, renowned for her expressive video work, directs her first feature, Quest, starring Enric Auquer, Laia Manzanares, Miquel Gelabert and María Arnal. The film follows Lluc, a biologist who, moved by his wife María’s suicide, explores the vegetation and mystery surrounding the isolated island where she died, searching for meaning and closure in the process.
‘Digimon: The Beginning’
Composed as a direct continuation of the Digimon Adventure universe, Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning unfolds in 2012, a decade after the Digital World’s earlier adventures. Daisuke Motomiya, now an adult, encounters a new force. A mysterious young man named Lui Ohwada proclaims to be the world’s first Chosen One, setting the stage for a new era of digital wonder and danger.
‘Godzilla: Minus One’
Japan follows the devastation of World War II with the appearance of a fearsome monster born from the atomic age. Godzilla returns to the screen in a stark, propulsive tale that frames a nation’s recovery through the lens of monumental disaster and resilience.
‘He came to me’
Rebecca Miller directs a romantic comedy featuring Peter Dinklage, Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei. The story follows a blocked composer who rediscovers his creative spark during a wild and transformative night, blending wit with warmth to explore love, ambition, and reinvention.
‘Silent Night’
A grieving father, portrayed with a hoarse, exhausted voice by Joel Kinnaman, watches as his world spirals during Christmas Eve. With his son caught in gang violence, the night becomes a crucible for revenge, healing, and the cost of vengeance.
‘Criminals’
Argentine filmmaker Rodrigo Moreno presents The Criminals, his eighth feature, in which two bank employees drift toward desperation and then plot a dangerous escape from the mundanity of daily life by turning to crime. A taut, provocative look at routine and rebellion.
‘Callas: Paris 1958’
Tom Volf, famed for Maria by Callas, revisits a pivotal night in the opera diva’s life. The documentary re-creates her Paris Opera debut, a landmark moment that drew the attention of a city and a world to her extraordinary presence and untamable temperament.
‘Cristina García Rodero: Sneak Peek’
Carlota Nelson directs a documentary about the self-taught Spanish photographer Cristina García Rodero. The film unveils decades of reportage, revealing how people celebrate life, love, beauty, and the inevitability of death through her intimate, candid lens.
‘Head and Heart’
Ainhoa Andraka and Zuri Goikoetxea, two decades after the Paralympic moment that marked their city, helm the documentary Head and Heart. The film chronicles a new chapter of opportunity emerging from a past that shaped them, highlighting resilience and ambition for disabled athletes stepping into the spotlight once more.
‘Three thieves and a lion’
Two animated features for younger viewers arrive, including the Norwegian Three Thieves and a Lion, a cautionary tale about trust and mutual aid. The project also features a director’s remake of Loving Vincent, bringing a fresh live-action approach to a story initially told in color and motion. Adapted from the Polish novel In the Name of the Land, the project uses 40,000 oil-painted frames to craft a vivid, painterly depiction of its world.
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