The 2025 Málaga Film Festival proved one thing loud and clear: Spanish cinema is embracing a shift toward more inclusive, diverse storytelling. This year’s edition put LGBTQIA+ narratives and underrepresented realities front and center, with films like Mariliendre, Jone, a veces, Muy lejos, and the award-winning Sorda leading the way.
We hit the red carpet to hear from stars like Carmen Machi, Paco León, and Raúl Tejón about why telling these stories matters. “Life is diverse, and cinema should reflect that,” said Machi. León echoed this: “We’re living through a gender revolution—fiction needs to keep up.” Tejón didn’t mince words: “Cinema is still patriarchal and homophobic, but society is evolving—and so is film.”
A standout this year was Sorda, fresh from a Berlinale audience award. Directed by Eva Libertad, it follows a deaf woman navigating new motherhood. “The person behind the camera is no longer always a straight, white, middle-class man. We’re seeing new sensibilities emerge,” Libertad explained.
Cinema has always mirrored society. This year in Málaga, it finally held up a mirror to the beautiful complexity of who we really are.
This article was written with the support of Shangay Magazine as KET.brussels is part of the European LGBTQIA Media Association.*
You may also like
-
Black Sapho: In Her Own Frequency
In Brussels, where identities intersect and scenes evolve every weekend, Black Sapho moves between worlds
-
Madonna’s “Confessions II”: when the queen of pop courts the queer altar again
With “Confessions II”, a new electro‑driven album built for dancefloors and stadiums, Madonna is staging
-
BRIFF 2026: Brussels Turns Into a friendly Cinema City
From 4 to 12 September 2026, the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) returns for nine
-
Baile Funk, Queer Resistance: Sociological Rave Brings Kontronatura and Onda SoundSystem to Brussels
On 10 July, Brussels gets hit with a full wave of baile funk and queer
-
Heat, Storms and Beats: Ket Visits Paradise City’s Wildest Edition Yet
For its 11th edition, Paradise City turned Steenokkerzeel into a three‑day experiment in sustainable club