Carmen

This 40th anniversary presentation showcases Carlos Saura’s biggest international box office success with a self-reflexive meditation on both Bizet’s popular opera Carmen and the original novella by Prosper Mérimée.

Legendary dancer Antonio Gades plays a choreographer who becomes involved with the production’s lead dancer Carmen (played by Laura del Sol) and grows dangerously jealous. Depicting the ups and downs of their affair in between rehearsals for Gades’s ballet, Carmen is a visually hypnotic hall of mirrors in which the dancers become inseparable from their personas. 

Notable for innovative choreography, which blends traditional flamenco dancing with contemporary dance styles, it also features several famous flamenco musicians, including guitarist Paco de Lucía and singer José Menese. 

A critical and commercial success upon its release, Carmen is widely regarded as one of the greatest dance films ever made and remains a classic of Spanish cinema offering a vibrant, emotional hymn to rhythm, dance and cinema.