Almodovar’s Next Film in Spanish, ‘Bitter Christmas’ Unveiled by Movistar Plus+
Spanish streaming and production giant Moviestar Plus+ has announced the next film from iconic director Almodóvar, Bitter Christmas (“Amarga Navidad”).
It will premiere in Spanish theaters in 2026, distributed by Warner Spain, before shown exclusively on Movistar Plus+’s platform.
Almodovar is the subject of my new book:
Gay Directors, Gay Films? By Emanuel Levy (Columbia University Press)
The acclaimed Spanish director’s project, currently filming between Madrid and Lanzarote, is a production of Pedro and brother Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo, with the collaboration of Movistar Plus+.
Synopsis for the film, translated from Spanish:
“Elsa is an advertising director whose mother dies during a long December holiday weekend. She throws herself into work as a form of escape, not realizing she’s denying herself the time to grieve. Her relentless pace is interrupted when a panic attack forces her to take a break. Her partner, Bonifacio, becomes her anchor in this moment of crisis. Elsa decides to travel to the island of Lanzarote with her friend Patricia, who is also looking to get away from Madrid, while Bonifacio stays behind in the city.
The story of these three characters, and others, runs parallel to that of screenwriter and film director Raúl Durán, intertwining fiction and reality.
Bitter Christmas explores how life and fiction are inseparably linked, sometimes painfully so.”
After the recent departure of Movistar Plus+ director of fiction and entertainment Domingo Corral, Movistar Plus+ says it is launching a new phase with a renewed commitment to Spanish cinema. What better way to do that than with a new film from the Oscar-winning Almodóvar?
The platform continues to strengthen bond with national filmmakers, particularly Almodóvar, after the success of the previous collaboration, “The Room Next Door, starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.
That film earned the Golden Lion at the 2024 Venice Film Fest and won three Goya Awards.
Last month, Movistar Plus+’s “Sirat,” from acclaimed director Oliver Laxe, won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Fest.
