Palomitas

This week on  Palomitas , we're heading to Cartagena - to the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and the ruins of the Spanish economic crisis - with Álex de la Iglesia's searing 2011 comedy-drama,  La chispa de la vida  (As Luck Would Have It). We're joined by special guest Dr Raquel Martínez Martín, Teaching Associate in Modern Languages (Spanish) at the University of Strathclyde, whose re...

This week on  Palomitas , we step into the shadows of Madrid's margins with Fernando León de Aranoa's searing 2005 drama,  Princesas  - a film that asks: what happens when the women who sell sex are rendered invisible by the very state that profits from their labour? We're joined by special guest Dr Peter Watson, Associate Professor in Hispanic Studies at the University of Leeds. Set a...

This week on Palomitas, we get tangled in a web of desire, ham, and hyper-masculinity with Bigas Luna's outrageously provocative 1992 comedy-drama,  Jamón jamón  - so good they named it twice. We're joined by special guest Prof. Santiago Fouz Hernández, Professor of Iberian Studies & Film at Durham University and author of the definitive new study,  The Films of Bigas Luna  (Manchester...

This week on Palomitas, we journey to the heart of rural Castile to explore Icíar Bollaín's compassionate and clear-eyed comedy-drama,  Flores de otro mundo  [Flowers from Another World] (1999) - with special guest Prof. Rosi Song, Professor of Hispanic Studies at Durham University. The film follows three women - Patricia from the Dominican Republic, Milady from Cuba, and Mari Rosi from Bilbao...

This week on Palomitas, we dive into the sunlit, sensual daydream of  Belle Époque  (Fernando Trueba, 1992) - with special guest Dr. Peter Watson, Lecturer in Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of Leeds. An Oscar-winning comedy of manners and desire, the film follows Fernando, a young army deserter in 1931, who stumbles into a rural paradise presided over by four spirited sisters...

Episode 7 descends into a dark, enchanted maze. We're discussing Guillermo del Toro's modern masterpiece,  Pan's Labyrinth  (2006), with our special guest, world-renowned expert Professor Ann Davies, Emeritus Professor of Spanish at the University of Stirling. In the brutal Spain of 1944, young Ofelia confronts the monstrous fascist Captain Vidal, her stepfather, and undertakes a terri...

This week on  Palomitas , we dive into the explosive, darkly comic world of  Fe de etarras  [Bomb Scared] (Borja Cobeaga, 2017) with special guest Dr. Alison Posey, (newly appointed) Assistant Professor of Spanish at Transylvania University. A tragicomic farce that turns terrorism into a punchline, the film traps four bumbling ETA members in a flat during Spain’s euphoric 2010 World Cup victory, w...

Episode 5 dives into two explosive Spanish documentaries - both on Netflix - shaking up the fight for gender justice, with special guest Dr. Abigail Loxham, Reader in Hispanic Film Studies at the University of Liverpool. No estás sola: la lucha contra la Manada (Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, 2024) - The harrowing story of the  La Manada  gang rape case and the feminist uprising that forced...

Matthew discusses  Mi querida cofradía  (Marta Díaz, 2018)   with Dr Erin K. Hogan, Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Think feminist farce, dark humour, Catholic imagery, and challenges to patriarchy, as laughter becomes a tool of resistance and transformation. What does it take for a woman to become leader? Scholarship cited in the episode: (For the bo...

In episode three, Matthew chats all things Volver (Pedro Almodóvar, 2006) with not one but two extra-special guests: Prof Sarah Wright (Professor of Hispanic Studies and Screen Arts, Royal Holloway) and Dr Miguel García (Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies, Bristol University). Scholarship cited in the episode: (For the books, ask your library - university and/or public - to buy a copy! Trust us:...

In episode two, Matthew chats with Dr Fiona Noble (Lecturer in Spanish, Stirling University) about Ocho apellidos vascos (Emilio Martínez-Lázaro, 2014), the highest-grossing Spanish film of all time. Also featuring exclusive one-on-one interviews with Martínez-Lázaro himself, as well as co-scriptwriter Borja Cobeaga. Scholarship cited in the episode: For the books, ask your library - university an...

In episode one of Palomitas, Dr Matthew Hilborn (Government of Ireland Research Fellow in Spanish Studies, UCD) and Dr Mary Farrelly (Assistant Professor of Spanish Studies, UCD) discuss La llamada (2017), the film version of the hit Spanish musical, written and directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo. Scholarship cited in the episode: For the books, ask your library - university and/or publi...