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Dance of the Living film image; woman looking intently at a man

Dance of the Living

La Lucha

Vanguard

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International Premiere

An ode to the wrestling tradition practiced by the indigenous Canarians of Fuerteventura island, this elegant and layered father-daughter drama takes us into the heart of a family crisis brought on by the untimely passing of their matriarch. Adding to the fresh wound is the pressure of fast-approaching finals, and teenage Mariana grapples with growing anger while her father Miguel contends with a knee injury that foreshadows the twilight of his career.

In his sophomore directorial outing, seasoned cinematographer José Alayón employs his keen eye to bring to life the precise rhythms and ancestral spirit of a sport deeply ingrained in the islanders’ cultural fabric. From the opening shot, the director binds his distinct visual language with the narrative texture, beautifully capturing the poise and majestic physicality of the athletes as he mines the rising emotional dissonance between the film’s leads.

 

Media Partner

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Director
Cast

Yazmina Estupiñán, Tomasín Padrón, Inés Cano, Sara Cano, Aridany Pérez

Credits
Country of Origin

Spain/Colombia

Year

2025

Language

In Spanish with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
92 min
Drama Family Relations
El Viaje Films, Blond Indian Films

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Marina Alberti

Producer

Jose Alayón, José M. Viña, Jamie Weiss, Jairo López, Carlos E. García

Screenwriter

Samuel M. Delgado, Marina Alberti

Cinematography

Mauro Herce

Editor

Emma Tusell

Original Music

Camilo Sanabria, Adriana Galán

José Alayón headshot

José Alayón

José Alayón debuted as a director in 2013 with the hybrid feature film Slimane. Since then, he has built a successful career as a producer through his production company El Viaje Films, which produced acclaimed titles such as White on White by Theo Court (winner of Best Director and the FIPRESCI Award at Venice Orizzonti 2019) and Dead Slow Ahead by Mauro Herce (Special Jury Prize at Locarno Cineasti del Presente 2015). Alayón is an internationally awarded cinematographer, with recognition from festivals such as the Seville European Film Festival and Cairo IFF. Dance of the Living (2025) is his sophomore feature.

Filmography: Slimane (2013)

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