Official Competition

Official Competition is a sharp Spanish comedy from Argentina directors Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn (Yo, Presidente; El hombre de al lado) about a self-absorbed film director who must harness the egos of her two leading men. When a billionaire entrepreneur impulsively decides to create an iconic movie, he demands the best. Renowned filmmaker Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz) is recruited to mastermind this ambitious endeavor. Completing the all-star team are two actors with enormous talent but even bigger egos: Hollywood heartthrob Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) and radical theatre actor Iván Torres (Oscar Martínez). Both are legends, but not exactly best friends. Through a series of increasingly eccentric trials set by Lola, Félix and Iván must confront not only each other, but also their own legacies. Who will be left when the cameras finally start rolling? [2021, Spain, 115 min, Rated: Not Rated, in Spanish with English subtitles] Amy Nicholson of FilmWeek exclaims, “Everyone is so, so funny in this. I love this stage of Cruz's career.” Mike LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle says, “This is like comedy for the mind. But whatever you want to call it, it’s intellectually satisfying, in that it presents a skewed but unified vision of reality.” Venue: Cinema Art Theater. Presenter: Rehoboth Beach Film Society.