Special Events
"A hilarious film which touches universal matters." GSUS LOPEZ
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

The Summer Side

(Del lado del verano)

Director: Antonia San Juan Country: Spain 2012 100 mins Comedy Spanish with English subtitles Cast: Antonia San Juan, Sara Guerra, Secun De La Rosa, Eduardo Casanova

This eccentric and lively gem from the Canary Islands centres on the trials and tribulations of a wonderfully dysfunctional family. Following the death of their patriarch, they navigate the choppy waters of family feuds, love, betrayal, friendship and burgeoning sexuality.

Although deep down she loves them, Tana (Macarena Gómez) is embittered with her eccentric and unbalanced family – in which everyone has an opinion about the other person’s problems, but is blind to their own. Devastated by the passing of her father, Tana battles to understand why her grandmother outwardly blames her mother for his death; why her Aunt Carmen refuses to accept her son Tomas’ homosexuality (Eduardo Casanova from SFF12’s Opening Night film As Luck Would Have It); why her aunts constantly bicker; and why her sister, Estela, is committed to a loathsome, cheating man. Nevertheless, Tana has hatched an escape plan: to move to Sydney, Australia with her boyfriend. However, things don't always go to plan...

Directed by and starring Antonia San Juan (who starred in Pedro Almodóvar’s All About My Mother), The Summer Side is a superbly-balanced fusion of comedy, absurdity, melodrama, and tenderness that will leave you delighted and relieved that your family is not as unusual as you thought!

  • Winner -
    2012 Alicante Film Festival - Silver Tesela for Best Actress, Gold Tesela for Best Film
All non-English language films will screen in the festival with English subtitles.