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"All the classic ingredients you could hope for . . . and above all it is highly entertaining and great fun!" LIVEWIRE
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Hold Up!

(¡Atraco!)

Director: Eduard Cortés Country: Spain/Argentina 2012 112 mins Crime/Comedy Spanish with English subtitles Cast: Nicolás Cabré, Guillermo Francella, Amaia Salamanca, Óscar Jaenada, Daniel Fanego, Jordi Martínez

An energetic, crowd-pleasing knockabout heist caper with serious, even tragic, undertones. Hold Up! is based on the bizarre true story of a complicated plan concocted to prevent the wife of Spain's dictator General Franco getting her hands on jewels once owned by Argentina's fabled first lady, Evita.

Romance, comedy and drama are energetically fused in this snazzy period-piece, in which the staunch Peron loyalist Merello (played by Guillermo Francella, The Secret in their Eyes) enlists the over-zealous Miguel (Nicolás Cabré) to execute a staged robbery on a Madrid jewellery store. Miguel is keen to please, but also strays from the plan on more than one occasion. It does not aid the project when Miguel falls head over heels in love with the gorgeous Teresa (Amaia Salamanca), allowing this to cloud his better judgement.

Director Eduard Cortés (Winning Streak – SFF2012), delivers this stranger-thanfiction episode from the 1950s with stunning period detail, and respectful nods to the timeless French classics of a similar period. Federico Jusid's score pays homage to the era with a rousing, blaring big-band jazz score. With a formidable ensemble cast, Hold Up! is sure to be an unmissable festival highlight.

Not screening in Perth/Byron Bay.

  • 2012 San Sebastian International Film Festival
All non-English language films will screen in the festival with English subtitles.