“Misunderstood. Lesbian. Pretentious. Depraved. Cruel. Whore. Whore!.” These are just some words in which eccentric arthouse director Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz) describes herself. For her latest project she gets put to work by an entrepreneur billionaire who wants to create an iconic movie starring Hollywood superstar Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) and classical theatre actor Iván Torres (Oscar Martinez). This turns out to be quite the challenge as the two actors cannot get along in the slightest, yet the billionaire keeps insisting the movie goes on as planned.

Competencia Oficial is a hilarious satire of the world of arthouse cinema, avant-garde and all things pretentious. After it fittingly premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, it played in global arthouses in 2022. Now, after four years, it is time for us to serve some real avant-garde at your favorite local Groninger arthouse. A prelude to our special, to be announced, month of June; Competencia Oficial will set the tone accordingly. -Ruben

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