KASHISH 2026 Country in Focus – SPAIN
As KASHISH Pride Film Festival continues to foster global cultural dialogue through cinema, we are pleased to present Spain as the Country in Focus for the 2026 edition.
Positioned at the intersection of cinema, culture, policy, and identity, this focus brings together a compelling showcase of contemporary Spanish storytelling alongside a series of curated conversations.
Marking the India–Spain Year of Culture, Tourism and AI (2026), this initiative aligns with the broader spirit of exchange between the two countries, offering a timely platform to deepen creative and cultural engagement.
Through a dedicated selection of Spanish films spanning diverse genres and languages, and a panel discussion engaging filmmakers, artists, and cultural stakeholders, the focus aims to strengthen the cultural bridge between India and Spain.
This year’s the ‘Country in Focus’ seeks not only to highlight Spain’s rich and diverse creative landscape, but also to contribute meaningfully to the evolving discourse on inclusive cultural diplomacy while reinforcing the role of KASHISH as a vital space for international exchange, dialogue, and community engagement.
Read:
Panel Discussion:
Cinema, Culture & Tourism: The Spain–India Connection
Date: Saturday June 6
Time: 4.30 – 5.30 PM
Venue: Liberty Cinema
As India and Spain celebrate the 2026 dual year of culture and tourism, this panel explores the intersections of cinema, travel, and cultural diplomacy through an inclusive lens. Indian films such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Pathaan have significantly shaped Spain’s appeal among Indian travellers. Beyond tourism, cinema also influences ideas of identity, freedom, and belonging. The discussion will examine how films and tourism can foster cultural exchange while promoting safer, more inclusive travel experiences in both countries.
Speakers: Anant Joshi (Actor), Usha Jadhav (Actress, Producer), Elena Orland Palazuelos (Director, Spain Tourism Office in Mumbai). Moderator: Rohini Ramnathan (RJ)
Spanish Films at KASHISH 2026
A selection of 4 Narrative Features and 13 Short Films across fiction and documentary categories, in Spanish, Catalan and Galician language.
F E A T U R E F I L M S
LOVE & REVOLUTION (Te estoy amando locamente)
Director: Alejandro Marín
108 MIN | 2023 | Spain | Spanish | Country Focus Narrative Feature
Seville, 1977. At a time when homosexuality is a crime, Reme, traditional mother of an aspiring adolescent artist, will have to face the Andalusian LGTBI movement, paradoxically gestated within the Church.
ASTRONAUT LOVERS
Dir: Marco Berger
116 MIN | 2024 | Argentina, Spain | Spanish | Narrative Feature
Transpiring over a languid summer by the sea in Argentina, The Astronaut Lovers is a breezy comedy about Pedro (Javier Orán) and Maxi (Lautaro Bettoni), two childhood friends reunited years later as young men. Openly gay, Pedro is amused by Maxi’s curiosity about “gay shit” and his playful “straight dude” flirtations… but things kick up a notch when Maxi tries to make his ex-girlfriend jealous by saying Pedro is his boyfriend. Treating it like a jovial roleplaying game, Pedro starts to lose sight of what’s real and what’s fantasy.
IVAN & HADOUM
Director: Ian de la Rosa
101 MIN | 2025 | Spain, Germany, Belgium | Spanish | Narrative Feature in Competition
In a greenhouse in southern Spain, Iván falls in love with newly hired co-worker Hadoum. But his long-awaited promotion interferes with their relationship, forcing him to decide what kind of person he wants to be. Winner of Teddy Award for Best Feature at Berlinale 2026
MASPALOMAS
Directors: Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga
115 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Closing Night Feature
Vicente, an elderly gay man, decides to hide his sexual orientation after moving to a nursing home, where he will have to face his own fears and prejudices.
S H O R T F I L M S
APRIL
Director: Carmen Meitín Moreno, Corona Alonso Rebaque
7 MIN | 2026 | Spain | Spanish | Animation Short
April is a witch preparing a surprise birthday party for her girlfriend, Liz. Unfortunately her girlfriend`s cat Limón, has other plans. Moved by jealousy, he will do anything to ruin it and mess with April, who will try to stop him with her magic, only to make things worse. It isn’t until chaos spreads through that he realizes he has gone too far.
The Devil’s Garden (El jardí del diable)
Director: Pol Rebaque
25 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Catalan | Narrative Short
Lucas wanders into a late-night party looking for Tiago, a love from the past. Desire meets uncertainty, especially when Tiago shares that he is HIV-positive.
FAIR DANCE (Baile de feria)
Director: Bernabé Bulnes
19 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
Aurelio and Alicia, father and daughter, want to go to the fair. Each has their own reasons. Each carries their own burdens.
FRANCISCO
Director: Sergio Avellaneda Belmonte
18 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
Antonia, a soccer coach, receives a visit from her sisters after the death of their father, the club’s founder, to fulfil his last wish. What should be a peaceful farewell turns into a tense night.
HOLDING YOUR BREATH (El bañador)
Director: Cristian Valenciano
14 MIN | 2026 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
Summer 2003. Miguel and Javi, two fourteen-year-old friends, spend their days between swims, video games, and a bet that follows them all summer long: to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest. Javi always wins; he says his swimsuit is magical. Intrigued by the mystery, Miguel begins to see his friend in a different way. In the pool, where the world seems to stand still, their friendship transforms into something neither of them can explain. In a time of change and first desires, that summer will mark the end of innocence and the beginning of everything yet to come.
i DREAM
Director: Lula Dahringer
15 MIN | 2026 | Spain, Germany | Spanish | Experimental Short
During a sweltering summer, a queer teen’s first love fractures, and her subconscious becomes a dreamscape where she fights to set herself free.
KILLJOTE
Director: Ángel Villahermosa
12 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
The neighbours on Cristo Street gossip in the cool evening until they hear loud moans coming from Carmen’s house. At first, they sound like pleasure, but soon they turn into something much stranger.
MAYBE YES OR MAYBE NOT (Potser sí o potser no)
Director: Agustí Estadella
27 MIN | 2026 | Spain | Catalan | Narrative Short
Joan, a mature businessman obsessed with youth, and Víctor, a young singer full of dreams, live a relationship that defies conventions and the passage of time. Everything seems stable until Sara, Víctor’s mother, enters the scene – a free, funny and unpredictable woman – who drags a past full of secrets. An apparently chance meeting between her and Joan will unleash a series of revelations that will shake the foundations of their love story.
MY PERSONAL U
Director: Rafael Giner Sánchez, Alex Cuellar
15 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
Naza is secretly obsessed with Paula. She decides to download “My Personal U”, a new app that works with AI and creates virtual clones of real people to carry around on your smartphone. Now, the virtual and real worlds become so mixed up in Naza’s life that she can’t tell them apart.
NOT CRAZY (No estamos locos)
Director: Lucía Criado Rosas
19 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
At almost 20 years old, Juan apparently has a life like any other person of his age, studying the career he had always wanted, being the joy of his house and everyone’s friend, with a bright future and clear ideas. But something breaks this normality.
STALLION AND A CRYSTAL BALL (Stallion y la Bola de Cristal)
Director: Christian Avilés
19 MIN | 2026 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
In his dark, silent room, a secluded teenager sick with a burning desire casts a spell. As violent visions warp his reality, a bubble threatens to burst; something must break.
STIGMA (Estigma)
Director: Pilar García Elegido
23 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Documentary Short
Does stigma towards HIV still exist? Testimonies from experts and people living with HIV answer this question. One of the participants is Josep María Tomás who in 2000 starred in POSITIVO, a documentary nominated for the Goya award and winner of multiple awards. STIGMA returns to the topic 25 years later.
THEY, WITH AN AXE
Director: Cande Lázaro
13 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short
The residents of a village are interviewed after the shock happened the night before: an axe, a woman with a dress and hairy legs, like a man.
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About KASHISH Pride Film Festival
KASHISH Pride Film Festival is South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ+ film festival, and the first LGBTQ+ film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theatre. It is the first Indian LGBTQ+ festival to be held with approval by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India. Founded in 2010, KASHISH has grown to become an important medium for exhibition, production and distribution of LGBTQ+ films and the most needed platform to nurture the Indian LGBTQ+ movement. KASHISH has been voted as one of the Top 5 LGBTQ+ Film Festivals in the World, and also one of the Top 5 Film Festivals in India.
About Tourism Office of Spain in India
The Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai is the official representative office of Turespaña in India. Turespaña is the Spanish Tourism Institute, the administrative body of the Government of Spain responsible for promoting Spain internationally as a tourist destination.
The office promotes Spain in India through a wide range of tourism, marketing and cultural initiatives, while also supporting Spanish tourism companies and destinations in the Indian market. Its activities include collaborations with the travel trade, media, destination promotion campaigns, marketing activities, tourism events, and initiatives linked to Spain’s international tourism brand.
The Tourism Office of Spain in India also works to promote sustainable tourism by encouraging travel beyond traditional destinations and peak seasons, while highlighting Spain’s diverse cultural, gastronomic, natural and experiential offerings. Spain is increasingly perceived in India as a vibrant, welcoming and culturally rich destination, appreciated for its heritage, lifestyle, festivals, hospitality and growing cultural affinities with India.
