Spanish & Latin American Festival ¡VIVA! to Return to HOME This April

HOME is delighted to announce the return of ¡VIVA! Spanish & Latin American Festival for its 22nd edition across 18 days of films and events this April.

The outstanding cross-artform line-up includes an array of newly commissioned theatre productions, a showcase of work by Cuba's most prominent playwright, 20 films in four different languages from ten countries including four UK premieres and three sneak previews of Spanish and Latin American films set to hit the big screen across the country later this year, and a reunion of the sold-out, Cornerhouse closing performance The Storming.

¡VIVA! 2016 - Theatre:

For the first time ever, ¡VIVA! will include an energetic theatre programme presenting new commissions alongside existing work and a special residency and showcase by Cuban playwright Abel Gonza?lez Melo.

Award-winning theatre company Little Soldier Productions will feature Derailed, the live recording of a concept album about social change. Using elements of physical theatre, storytelling, intimate confession and live music, this new commission is about politics and rock & roll.

ATRESBANDES are a young theatre company from Barcelona that has established a reputation for sharp, perceptive work. ¡Viva! 2016 will host the world premiere of its latest performance ALL IN. Inspired by going "all in" at poker where the player risks everything, ALL IN takes a wild ride through vastly different, seemingly unconnected worlds. Everyday situations take unexpected turns into the absurd and poignant, boundaries are tested, meals ruined, a dead guest goes to a nightclub and a bearded lady bares her soul.

Emma Frankland, Keir Cooper and Ultimo Comboio will showcase Don Quijote, a playful exploration of Cervantes' novel, combining incredible visual imagery, live music and dance, with secret guest performers in the title role each evening.

Cuba Now will welcome leading contemporary playwright Abel Gonza?lez Melo to the festival. Internationally renowned Gonza?lez Melo writes about the underbelly of Cuban society, its harsh realities and relationships. His first success came with award-winning play Chamaco, which will see its UK premiere, a scratch performance, as part of ¡Viva! (directed by HOME's Artistic Director: Theatre, Walter Meierjohann; translated by William Gregory). HOME will also present a reading of Gonza?lez Melo's newly commissioned Weathered - the two pieces, presented in English language, span ten years of the struggles and hopes of Cuban society.

The translation of Chamaco by William Gregory was originally commissioned by the Royal Court Theatre's International Department.

To book tickets for any of the events, call HOME box office on 0161 200 1500 or visit homemcr.org.

¡VIVA! 2016 - Film:

This year, the festival will showcase two fascinating documentaries and 18 feature films, in four different languages -- Castilian, Catalan, Basque and Mayan language Kaqchikel -- and hailing from ten different countries: Spain, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. The 2016 film programme includes no less than four UK premieres (Mi Gran Noche, Amama, Juntos y revueltos and L'adopcio?), plus three sneak previews of Spanish and Latin American films to make their UK debut on cinema screens later this year (El Abrazo de la serpiente, El Clan and Truman).

Delving into the archives, the programme will also present four recent Argentinian classics featuring prolific actor Ricardo Dari?n, in honour of his new film Truman, and a tribute to local heroine Leonora Carrington, a Lancashire-born surrealist artist who made her home in Mexico, with an introduced screening of the 1973 risque? horror film The Mansion of Madness.

Audiences will be able to enjoy the return of a collection of filmmaker Q&As, introduced screenings, a post-screening discussion, a One Hour Intro, and the Cafe? Cervantes language learners' event. In addition, the festival will host a Baby Friendly screening on Thu 21 April, and its first ever HOME-commissioned audio description for blind or partially sighted customers to accompany the screening of documentary Gabor.

The full ¡Viva! film programme will be announced on Fri 11 March, see homemcr.org for details.

¡VIVA! 2016 - Visual Art:

In 2015, Cornerhouse closed its doors for the final time, bidding farewell to the venue in truly spectacular style with a celebratory, sold-out performance by Panamanian artist Humberto Ve?lez, The Storming. For ¡Viva! 2016, HOME will stage The Storming Reunion, with a Latin party for everyone on Sat 23 April from 17.45.

Visual art will also present the launch of online experimental moving image platform Apologi?a /Antologi?a, which containes 250 freely accessible works of experimental moving image by Spanish artists and filmmakers.

For latest details on The Storming Reunion, visit homemcr.org.

¡VIVA! is presented with Instituto Cervantes (Manchester) and the Office for Cultural Scientific Affairs, Embassy of Spain in the United Kingdom, with the support of the BFI Film Festival Fund, awarding funds from The National Lottery.

HOME, Manchester's new centre for international contemporary art, theatre, film and books, officially opened its doors over the 2015 May Bank Holiday weekend. Designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo and featuring a 500-seat theatre; a 150-seat flexible theatre; a 500m2, 4m high gallery space; five cinema screens; digital production and broadcast facilities; a cafe? bar and restaurant, HOME was formed from the merger of two of Manchester's best-loved cultural organisations, Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company. HOME's theatres are a platform for questioning and ambitious artistic projects that involve audiences with new and extraordinary theatrical experiences. The international contemporary visual art programme is dedicated to presenting new commissions by emerging and established artists of regional, national and international significance, with a bold, proactive policy of visual, innovative storytelling with the ability to experiment and explore, probe and provoke, creating a distinct experience for both artists and audiences. HOME's five cinemas showcase the very best in contemporary and classic cinema, screening works by artists and filmmakers both established and new. HOME is a centre for co-production, talent development and artistic creation, dedicated to learning, for people of all ages. A place for new work and playful ideas; of festivals and commissions; of artists and of audience engagement. The patrons of HOME are Danny Boyle, National Theatre Artistic Director Nicholas Hytner, actress Suranne Jones, playwright and poet Jackie Kay MBE, artists Rosa Barba and Phil Collins, filmmaker Asif Kapadia, and actress and author Meera Syal CBE.

Pictured: Mi Gran Noche, film still

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