Some of the most eagerly anticipated and acclaimed Spanish feature debuts, several already boasting awards and rave reviews, will be screened at ALCINE 55 as part of Pantalla Abierta, a section showcasing the first feature films of directors who started out making shorts — and whose work has previously appeared at the festival. Anoche conquisté Tebas, Corredora, Iván & Hadoum, Viva, Lionel, Mala Bestia and Upiro will screen at the Alcalá de Henares / Community of Madrid Film Festival, from 5 to 15 November.
Before making a name for themselves, filmmakers have to make their first film. For these directors, that first film was a short, and the place was ALCINE, organised by the Department of Culture of Alcalá de Henares City Council and the Community of Madrid. They now return to the festival with their debut features, which have won awards in Berlin, Málaga and at Cannes Critics’ Week.
Pantalla Abierta will open out of competition with an expanded screening of Anoche conquisté Tebas, an award-winning film at Venice and the distinctive debut feature by Gabriel Azorín (whose short film Los galgos screened at ALCINE 42).
In the film, two young Portuguese men visit the ancient Roman baths of Bande, in Ourense, with their friends. Amid swimming, conversations and confidences, their experiences intertwine with those of Roman soldiers who visited the same place centuries earlier. A journey between past and present exploring male friendship, intimacy and the fear of separation.
The film, part of the special events programme Los buenos augurios, will be accompanied by a walking discussion featuring the director, playwright Celso Giménez and thinker Martin Pawley, who will move through different parts of the city while reflecting on the heritage of the night and its mysteries.
The remaining feature films will compete for the Pantalla Abierta Award at ALCINE 55. Their casts feature familiar faces including María Galiana, Guillermo Toledo, Juanjo Puigcorbé, Marina Salas, Àlex Brendemühl, Iria del Río, Aina Clotet and Javier Botet.
Iván falls in love with Hadoum, a new colleague at the greenhouse in Almería where he works. His ambition to move up within the company clashes with their relationship, forcing him to choose between his career aspirations and his feelings.
The film won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the 2026 Berlinale. In Málaga, it received the Special Jury Prize and the award for Best Screenplay, as well as a special mention for actor Silver Chicón.
Ian de la Rosa — one of the writers of Veneno — won third prize in the National Short Film Competition at ALCINE 50 with Farrucas.
Cris, an elite athlete, experiences a psychotic episode that brings her sporting career to a halt. As she tries to come to terms with her situation and rebuild her life, she finds essential support in her sister Natàlia. The film stars Alba Sáez, Marina Salas and Àlex Brendemühl.
The film received the ASECAN Award for Best Debut Feature at the 2026 Málaga Film Festival.
Its director, Laura García Alonso, previously took part in the festival with her short films Alex and Tormenta de verano. The latter also explored mental illness within a family, although from a different perspective.
After surviving cancer, forty-year-old Nora feels an overwhelming urge to live life to the fullest. In her search for new experiences and emotions, she begins relationships with two very different men, Tom and Max, but soon realises that neither can free her from the fears she still carries. Aina Clotet directs, co-writes and stars in the film, alongside Naby Dakhli, Marc Soler and Guillermo Toledo.
Clotet won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2026 for her performance. She had previously won the acting award at Canneseries 2024 for Esto no es Suecia. At ALCINE 49, she was a co-writer of Después también, by Carla Simón.
Lionel lives in Murcia and is about to lose the orphan’s pension he has received since his mother’s death. His father reappears with a proposal: to drive to France to visit his sister and attend a tribute to a deceased relative. The journey becomes an uncertain opportunity to rebuild their family bonds
The director films Lionel Corral Bernal, his father Lionel Corral, and his sister Alicia Corral, all playing themselves in a blend of reality and fiction. The film won the top prize at the 2026 Transilvania Film Festival and received recognition in Beijing, at SEMINCI and at Atlàntida.
Atenea is a young woman living at a boarding school who clings to childhood, unable to accept the transition into adulthood. Moving in with a foster family gives her the chance to find the home she so desperately needs, but it also awakens her fear of losing it and of someone taking her place. That fear gradually develops into increasingly disturbing behaviour. The cast includes Iria del Río and Roger Casamajor.
Mala bèstia won the DAMA Agustí Villaronga Award for Best Spanish Film at the 2026 Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest and was selected for the Made in Spain section at San Sebastián.
Bàrbara Farré is another filmmaker returning to Alcalá with her debut feature. Her short film La última virgen was part of the ALCINE 48 programme.
Óscar Martín’s first feature, Amigo, was screened at the opening of ALCINE 49. At ALCINE 55, audiences will see the Community of Madrid premiere of *Upiro*, his second feature film.
In 1755, Ana arrives at a cloistered convent where several nuns are suffering from a mysterious illness. With the help of an unconventional Franciscan friar, she sets out to investigate a series of disturbing events that point to the presence of a bloodthirsty creature. Blending suspense, supernatural horror and period drama, the story is inspired by a case of vampirism documented by the Catholic Church on the Iberian Peninsula.
The cast includes María Galiana, Juanjo Puigcorbé, Javier Botet and Diego Anido. The film has screened in competition at Fantastic Fest in Austin and in the Official Fantàstic Selection at Sitges 2026.
Tickets for Pantalla Abierta will go on sale soon on the ALCINE 55 and Culturalcalá websites.
